Denis Thiébault (1954) was born in Montmorency, France, one of six children in a family originally from the Champagne and Lorraine regions. He suffered from developmental problems owing to a difficult birth, but showed a serious interest in the arts, and in music in particular, from an early age. After a tormented adolescence, his great sensitivity prompted periods of deep depression, compensated by a marked sense of humour and a strong love of nature. 
From 1980 onwards, he spontaneously produced his first drawings in the supportive environment offered by the Centre d’Aide par le Travail (centre of assistance through work) – known as the CAT des Beaux-Arts – in Paris. Bringing his intense imagination to bear on paper, Thiébault focuses on depicting everyday objects, and especially portraits, including a few self-portraits. The bodies and faces of these characters appear fragmented, with their various features set apart in different sections outlined by a black line of varying thickness. The bright colours of his compositions are applied with felt-tip pens, more rarely with coloured pencils or crayons.