But he was also greatly impressed by the delicacy and extraordinarily precise work of his uncle, engraver Raymond Courcaut.
As a result, Michel became a student of advertising, while starting to compete in cycling races and continuing to paint in secret.
[1] It was just after World War II, during the Saint-Germain-des-Prés period, that Michel met thinkers as Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Boris Vian against a backdrop of music by the still unknown Juliette Gréco, and Sidney Bechet and Claude Luter on their way to fame as jazzmen.
Embracing a career in advertising, Michel moved up the agency ladder quickly and steadily, but never forgot his first love.
In 1945 he learnt photogravure, lithography, silkscreen printing and engraving Michel continued painting and sculpting but was too individualistic and too full of energy to follow a long academic course.