Jean-Paul Marchal, wood engraver and picture maker in Épinal
Born in 1928, Jean-Paul Marchal grew up among the wood shavings of his grandfather’s joinery workshop. First, he was a primary school teacher and it was only when he retired that he returned to his original passion, drawing. At the age of 55, he took classes at the Image d’Épinal school to learn typography. Very quickly, he honed his techniques and perfected his know-how until his talent was revealed by an art critic who immediately dubbed him the “Imagier d’Épinal”, the picture maker of Épinal.