Stéphane Chaudesaigues
Stéphane Chaudesaigues (born 1968 in Versailles, France) is a French tattoo artist based in Versailles. He is considered a pioneer of photorealistic tattooing, and his work has appeared in publications such as Customizing the Body: The Art and Culture of Tattooing. In 2012 he founded the Chaudesaigues Award to honor a tattoo artist’s career and artistic choices.
He began tattooing at 15. When he couldn’t find a formal apprenticeship, he taught himself from art books. In 1987 he opened his first studio in Avignon, called Art Tattoo, with his brother Patrick. The studio was renamed Graphicaderme in 1989 and now has eight locations in France. He later opened a studio in Paris’s Marais district and, in 2011, worked with John Lobb Bootmaker to design Paris-themed shoes.
In 2011 he showcased his art at a New Jersey tattoo convention and began collaborating with artists like Shane O’Neill and Nikko Hurtado. He helped found the World Wide Tattoo Conference, held in 2012. He was named Artist of the Year in 1995 by the National Tattoo Association.
This page was last edited on 1 February 2026, at 23:23 (CET).