About

Witnesses to the pinnacle of Art and Technology of their century, much like cathedrals were in their time, the great transatlantic liners have written a significant chapter in human history. Crossing the oceans, sometimes at great peril, these ships carried people looking for a better life, dreams thoughts, sources of work and Art, in essence, the riches of Humanity. Yet today, they remain little known and, for some, true mysteries. Few documents survive, having been damaged, destroyed, or lost. From this observation arose my desire to bring back to life this Golden Age, so near yet so far.

My work as an artist is a true archaeological adventure, following a contradictory and almost scientific approach, delving into the smallest details into plans, photographs, brochures, or accounts, to recreate a faithful image of the ship. Several months of work go into the creation of a single portrait, so that Art, Beauty & Technology can once again come together in a graphic homage, like an ideal color photograph, which for many of these ships, does not exist.

Each work is produced in a high-precision digital laboratory in Paris.

Photo: Laurent Julliand

“Great ships can be visually stunning. They can inspire and evoke huge emotions that pull at the heart. It takes great skill and a special attention of detail and accuracy to translate this into a graphic artform that really works. Nuances of shading, colour and form must be deftly applied so as to bring the ship alive in graphical form. Julien Garnier has this skill in abundance. His artworks of some of the greatest liners in history sail across the parchment in stunning realism, glory and perfection. As the architect of Queen Mary 2, I am delighted with Julien Garnier’s interpretation of the great liner which is worthy of as much recognition as the ship itself. I thoroughly recommend Julien Garnier’s work.”

Stephen Payne, Architect & Designer RMS QUEEN MARY 2