'Stan' by Jef Aérosol, a street-art stencil in Nancy
On rue Sainte-Catherine, a wall overlooking the Godron garden bears the familiar face of Stanislas. This monumental stencil, titled 'Stan', is by Jef Aérosol, a historic figure of French stencil art. The work belongs to the ADN urban art trail, Art Dans Nancy.
The duke in spray paint
To depict Stanislas, Jef Aérosol chose the image most familiar to the people of Nancy: the statue that dominates Place Stanislas. He turned it into stencils from photographs, moving from volume to surface, then giving the face back its relief and light once sprayed onto the wall. Made with aerosol and stencil, the work plays on this back-and-forth between three and two dimensions. The result questions how to render matter, shadow and the duke's gaze, while offering passers-by an urban, contemporary version of a very classical figure.
Jef Aérosol, stencil pioneer
Real name Jean-François Perroy, Jef Aérosol was born in 1957. He is one of the pioneers of stencil art in France, from the early 1980s, alongside artists who brought the technique into urban art. His signature is the small red arrow accompanying his works, and his gallery of black-and-white portraits: anonymous figures caught in the street as well as famous faces. Present in many cities worldwide, he gives his faces a silent, intense presence. In Nancy he applies this art of portraiture to a major local figure, King Stanislas.
A nod to Stanislas's garden
The location is far from incidental. The stencil overlooks the Alexandre Godron garden, a botanical garden whose origins go back to one created under Stanislas in the 18th century, a step away from the former Sainte-Catherine gate. Placing the duke-king's portrait above this spot weaves a link between the city's history and its contemporary creation. Made in the mid-2010s, the work also fits into commemorations connecting Lorraine to France. The face watches over the garden like a guardian presence, blending the memory of the Enlightenment with the vocabulary of the street.
Seeing the work on the ADN trail
'Stan' is one of the stops on the ADN trail, 'Art Dans Nancy', which brings together more than forty murals, stencils, sculptures and installations from the Porte de la Craffe to Place des Vosges. It is easy to fold into a walk through the historic centre, between Place Stanislas, whose statue it quotes, and the nearby shopping streets. The wall and the Godron garden can be visited freely, during the garden's opening hours. A leaflet published by the city helps locate each work: following the trail reveals Nancy from a more contemporary angle, between listed heritage and urban creation.
Infos pratiques
Adresse : Rue Sainte-Catherine, 54000 Nancy
Questions fréquentes
Who does the 'Stan' stencil depict?
It depicts Stanislas Leszczynski, King of Poland and last Duke of Lorraine, based on the statue that dominates Place Stanislas in Nancy.
Where is the work?
On a wall of rue Sainte-Catherine, overlooking the Alexandre Godron garden, in central Nancy. It can be discovered freely.
What technique was used?
Stencil and aerosol spray: Jef Aérosol created stencils from photographs of the statue before spraying them onto the wall.
Who is Jef Aérosol?
A French artist born in 1957, one of the pioneers of stencil art from the 1980s, recognisable by his red arrow and black-and-white portraits.
Pexels — Alexis B · Pexels — Marc Schneid
