Jean Arcelin is a Franco-Swiss painter, born in Paris in 1962, whose work bridges the gap between figurative realism and imagination. Renowned for his mastery of the alla prima technique - painting directly in oil without preliminary drawing or glazing - Arcelin creates luminous scenes that appear both real and dreamlike.
His paintings depict interiors, theatres, cafés, libraries, urban streets and coastal landscapes that, although rendered with photographic precision, do not exist in reality. They are spaces of memory and invention - what he calls a "false realism." Through architecture, perspective and the play of light, he evokes human presence without depicting a single figure.
Arcelin's universe is distinguished by its serenity, depth, and theatrical use of colour and light. Each canvas becomes a stage where silence, atmosphere and light take on the role of characters. The result is an art that feels timeless, suspended between past and present, observation and reverie.