Jean Arcelin was born in Paris in June 1962. He studied at the Académie Charpentier, affiliated with the Sorbonne University, where he developed a profound interest in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century painting. Although trained in art history, he pursued painting independently, refining his technique through years of personal research and studio practice.
He began exhibiting in the late 1980s, presenting his first shows in Paris and Switzerland. During the early 1990s, Arcelin participated in cultural programmes organised by Ebel in Basel and at Villa Schwob, and later presented works at the FIAC in Paris in 1993 and 1995. Over the following decades, his exhibitions extended to Europe and the United States, and in 2007 the town of Bergerac hosted a retrospective of some forty works.
Arcelin has also completed commissions for prestigious brands such as Ebel, Dom Ruinart, Natixis Bank and Tiffany & Co., which have celebrated his unique balance between craftsmanship and imagination. His work has been featured in numerous catalogues and is included in major artist dictionaries such as Benezit and Delarge.
Today, Jean Arcelin lives and works in Paris. His paintings can be found in private and public collections across Europe and North America, admired for their subtle dialogue between reality and illusion, light and silence, memory and invention.