Roman began to paint while studying chemistry. He then took a position a bank in Beirut near the home of his uncle the archeologist Henri Seyrig.Boncenne, Emmanuel, "Souvenirs," Philippe Roman. Emmanuel Boncenne, ed. (Montreuil: Gourcuff Gradinego, 2010) In 1953, on a visit to Paris, he met the writer Pierre Jean Jouve and his wife, the psychoanalyst Blanche Reverchon. Roman would later describe this encounter as a “second birth.”Roman, Philippe, "Je n'habite pas mon nom et n'ai pas de nom de peintre," Philippe Roman. Emmanuel Boncenne, ed. (Montreuil: Gourcuff Gradinego, 2010) The next summer he undertook analysis with Reverchon, in the course of which gave up banking to devote himself to painting; under Jouve's influence, he rejected the vogue for abstract art and devoted himself to figuration.Bombarde, Odile, "Devenir peintre," Philippe Roman. Emmanuel Boncenne, ed. (Montreuil: Gourcuff Gradinego, 2010) He grew close to other artists in their circle including Alberto Giacometti, Raymond Mason, and Balthus, whose work became a source of both inspiration and anxiety. “Even now,” Roman wrote in 1987, “I would tremble if I were to show my work to Balthus.” Roman was a friend and patron of Pierre Boulez.Mason, Raymond, "Une beauté captée, Philippe Roman. Emmanuel Boncenne, ed. (Montreuil: Gourcuff Gradinego, 2010)
