A work of art with a universal message In R217A, engraver and intaglio printer Didier Mutel successfully combines both challenges, an achievement rewarded by the 2016 Liliane Bettencourt Foundation Prize pour l'Intelligence de la Main® - Exceptional Talents.

This art book is not only an aesthetic feat but also includes an emblematic founding text of modern history: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the United Nations General Assembly adopted by resolution R217A in Paris on December 10, 1948. The delicate printing is perfectly legible, but the paper’s lightness underscores the vulnerability of human rights and the need for all of us to constantly defend them.

The work’s originality lies particularly in the medium: 160 pages divided into 20 quires printed in white on sheets of white silk paper. Sheets of carbon paper symbolizing the transmission of its values are interspersed between the printed sheets: a smudge of ink is left on readers’ fingers. The bound book is stored in a state-of-the-art Corian case,

  • ©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • ©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • ©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • ©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • ©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • ©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • ©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • ©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • ©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller

“The bound book is stored in a state-of-the-art Corian case, which protects this fragile, poetic, modern work.”

David CaméoPresident of the 2016 jury

Didier Mutel, turning books into art

Engraver, intaglio printer and professor at the Besançon School of Fine Arts, Didier Mutel divides his time between teaching and his studio in Orchamps (Jura) which he has owned since 2013. The studio has been a running thread in his career since he trained there with maître d’art Pierre Lallier in 1994. Now he focuses mainly on art books, which he makes alone or in collaboration with artists and writers.

©Sophie Zénon pour la Fondation Bettencourt Schueller

The Talents award of the Liliane Bettencourt Prize pour l'Intelligence de la main®

The award is given to an artisan for a work that displays a perfect command of technique and craftsmanship. It must be innovative and aesthetic but also contribute to progress in the artisan’s area of expertise.

  • Amount: 50,000 euros
  • Funding: up to 100,000 euros depending on the project.

 

All the award-winners