A French-Armenian artist, Jean Jansem was born in Bursa, Turkey in 1920. Due to the outbreak of war, his family moved to Greece. Later, he settled down in Paris and graduated from the École des Arts Décoratifs de Paris. His distinctive style is much favored by collectors around the world. There are two Jansem art museums in Japan, namely, the Azumino Jansem Museum in Nagano, and the Jansem Museum Tokyo in Ginza. In 1977, he was awarded the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) and then the Legion of Honor in 2003. In 2010, he was awarded the Medal of Honor by the president of Armenia. Jansem's works are housed in the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, the Musée d'Ennery in Paris, Moscow's Pushkin Museum, and the National Gallery of Armenia.