French, b. 1966 A singular force in contemporary French art, Nicolas de Crécy is celebrated for a style that seamlessly dissolves the boundaries between comics, literature, and fine art. A graduate of the prestigious Angoulême School of Art, de Crécy made history as the inaugural author for the Louvre Museum’s graphic novel collection with Période Glaciaire (2005). The work earned numerous accolades and was the subject of a major solo exhibition at the Louvre, cementing his status as a pioneer of "museum-grade" sequential art. De Crécy’s visual language is defined by a baroque, often distorted elegance that has gained significant acclaim in Japan. He is one of the rare Western creators published directly by Shueisha (in Ultra Jump), a feat stemming from his residency at Villa Kujoyama in Kyoto. This cross-cultural dialogue led to his acclaimed Kyoto Notebooks and a high-profile collaboration with legendary manga artist Taiyo Matsumoto, showcasing his ability to adapt his poetic, fluid linework to diverse aesthetic traditions. His versatility extends into luxury illustration and prose, notably commissioning for the Louis Vuitton Travel Book to capture the vibrant, baroque soul of Mexico. An accomplished author, his novel Les amours d’un fantôme en temps de guerre received the Prix Vendredi in 2018, followed by the 2021 release of Vieux Criminels through Gallimard. Living and working in Paris, de Crécy remains a world-renowned figure whose translated works continue to influence the global landscape of visual storytelling.