Arnaud Chevalier

Arnaud Chevalier (born 1982) is a French artist and designer specialized in jewelry. He is also known under the name "Chevalier de Metz", however this is not a title of nobility but an appelation that has been given to his family at the early XIX° century

Early life and career
Chevalier is born in Metz, France, in an old well established family of this part of France (Nort-East)"My childhood took place in an old large house, set within a walled garden, on the top of a hill. It was an ideal place to create. I kept from my early years a very fascinating and brilliant interior life and a taste for loneliness." (Because of its rich past (historic and artistic), and as my work is very linked to History, Paris is a constant source of inspiration, of wonder. It is a city that asks many questions, that is full of mysteries and where each stones has a story to tell. I listen to those forgotten stories and allow them to rebirth through my creations). He began to work as a volunteer art and architecture teacher, and then made his first paintings exhibition at Susan Ciminelli Day Spa in New York. He opened his firm and began to decorate interiors. Fascinated by history, especially by the 18th century, all his art carries that spirit.

Chevalier was commissioned by the French Earthenware factory "Emaux de Longwy" to create the collection " France, mère des Arts", inspired by the pages of the French Monarchy. Then, he began to work out precious jewels for a private clientele. He has been nicknamed "The ultimate Francophile" (Michael Corbin calls artist/designer Arnaud Chevalier ‘the ultimate Francophile". Their shared passion for art and all things French got them talking).… by the American author and blogger Mickael Corbin . He was the first to claim through his creations and the media for a historical and cultural understanding of art, and for a return to the classical pattern set into the contemporary art. (My work is inseparable from French history and aesthetic. My work has a strange face in the art scene; it’s not really what people are expecting from a young artist, but I accept that very special look. I wish that many other artists follow my footprints on that path and try to recover a clientele that has been forgotten these past years)."

Arnaud believes that our heritage and past are our real wealth, thus he strives for an historical approach towards his art. That is the reason why, in a world where uncluttered, minimalist designs are everywhere, Arnaud returns to the purest classical beauty within his contemporary creations.

He is the great great nephew of the explorator Jules Crevaux

His family used to own emeralds mines in Madagascar that provided 4% of the worldwide emerald production.

Discreet about his life, he lives in Paris where he mostly finds his inspiration (Anywhere I look, I can see fascinating things and not only in Paris, everywhere in France. There are small cities and villages, unknown by the public, that are real jewels).