Carzou and Armenia

    Carzou always claimed to be French, but he never forgot his Armenian roots. This is shown by the trips he made to Armenia, travelling by train in 1966, 1969 and1984.

    On his first trip he asked his wife to keep a diary of the trip, in order to remember all the details of what they experienced. In 1974, Voyage to Armenia was  published, and it clearly depicts the joy he experienced when  in his homeland. In spite of an exhausting itinerary, he took many photographs, and even enjoyed taking part in long discussions with his admirers ( he generally hated speaking in public) , for whom he was a " national hero "

    In EREVAN an exhibition was held of his etchings and theatre decors. It turned into something of a riot, because the 2000 catalogues containing 30 reproductions, were all snapped up within minutes of the opening, even though only 200 invitations had been sent !  

    Carzou wanted to spend some time drawing landscapes in Armenia, however his timetable was too full, and his admirers too numerous. He was also pleased to spend time with friends from  Montparnasse who had gone back to Armenia, and who wanted to catch up on news of those still in Paris. But time was rushing by and the month-long trip came to an end. Carzou and his wife promised to return. 

    The train whistles, and Jean shouts " Long live Armenia! "

 Danièle Sicard

Source: Nane Carzou : Voyage en Arménie  Published by Flammarion 1974  214 pages

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