Claude Durrens

Claude Durrens, born August 22, 1921 in Cenon, Gironde, and died December 20, 2002 in Bordeaux, was a French engraver, best known for his stamps and banknotes.

Biography

Born in Gironde, Claude Durrens studied engraving, winning a first prize from the city of Toulouse in 1941 during the Second World War. After the war, he was awarded a prize from the city of Bordeaux in 1946.

His studies at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts (where he was a pupil of Robert Cami) were crowned in 1952 with a Prix de Rome in intaglio for his Combat du jour et de la nuit.

His philatelic career began in 1959 with the two “Production bananière” stamps for Cameroon. Two months later, on May 23, 1959, a stamp designed by Jacques Combet and engraved by Durrens on the Hassi-Messaoud site was issued. The first stamp he designed and engraved himself appeared in February 1960, depicting the Musée d'Art et d'Industrie in Saint-Étienne.

In 1967, he engraved the “Marianne de Cheffer” stamp, ten years after the death of its designer, Henry Cheffer. He also designed an unissued “Marianne” stamp, and engraved another “Marianne” effigy of Cyril de La Patellière for the 1989 competition.

His last postage stamp was issued in 1997 in honor of the Collège de France. Durrens engraved nearly 400 stamps for France and several French-speaking countries.

He also engraved two banknotes: the 500-franc Pascal, bearing Pascal's effigy, and the 200-franc Montesquieu, bearing Montesquieu's effigy. He also illustrated books using several techniques: intaglio, burin, aquatint, etching, etc.