Jacques Violet

Jacques Violet was born in Paris in 1936. He studied drawing and art history at the Applied Arts, and specialized in ceramics, which enabled him to frequent Picault's studio in Vallauris, and to meet Picasso or Cocteau.

He began his career in 1955 as a painter for the Museum of Natural History and carried out several expeditions and long missions to survey rock paintings in the Sahara and Tassili.

The desert has bewitched him and leaves in him the imprint of wide open spaces.

He continued his wanderings in Africa where he became a photographer and then a journalist.

With African friends and colleagues, they set up a production company, set up newspapers and made films in various West African countries, particularly in the Sahel.

Back in France in 1968, he became a freelance photographer and collaborated with press agencies and major magazines for which he had the opportunity to photograph many personalities, and to follow the official trips of Presidents Pompidou and Giscard.

He joined the editorial staff of Antenne 2 in 1981 as a reporter; he will leave France 2 editor-in-chief at the dawn of the 2000s.

An active retiree, he is secretary general of the Society of French Explorers.

Brushes replace the camera; he started to paint again, especially the wide open spaces of the desert so dear to his heart.