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[J.-C. Ghirardi], Published 1993. Paperback, [38] pp.; 21 x 30 cm (oblong); text in French with English translation; one of 1790 unnumbered copies from an edition of 2000; illustrated with 15 color reproductions of paintings and pastels, three drawings and a black-and-white portrait photograph of the artist.
In Very Good condition. Glossy tan paper covers, front illustrated with color reproduction of the artist's "Autoportrait en Toreador" (1991) and title in black script; rear cover blank and toned. Light bumping and creasing to edges and corners, mild shelf and edge wear, sticker residue at top edge of front cover. Binding tight. Artist's address stamp (J.-C. Ghirardi, artiste peintre, Vence) on title page, offset onto inside front cover; scattered spotting to inside front cover and title page. Pages otherwise unmarked. Self-published retrospective of Paris-born painter Jean-Claude Ghirardi (b. 1938), covering the decade of work leading up to his settling in Vence in 1988. Begins with the autobiographical essay "Le Soleil en face" ("Facing the Sun"), dedicated to his master Jean Gigax, recounting his apprenticeship at the Ateliers J. Gigax in Paris, ten years in advertising including film posters for United Artists, Universal and Warner Bros., military service in Algeria, more than three years in West Africa, and 25 years in a Haute-Provence village before he returned to painting in 1987. The color plates reproduce paintings and a pastel from 1982 to 1992 (nudes, dancers, interiors, and Moroccan scenes including "Medina" and "Terrase a Marrakech"), each with title, date, dimensions and collection. Also includes press excerpts from 1969 to 1991 (Ouest France, La Depeche du Midi, Nice Matin, La Gazette de Drouot), an exhibition list through 1993 including the Galerie Katia Granoff in Paris and the Musee d'Eze, and a list of museum acquisitions and mural commissions in Monaco.