Cassandre, Adolphe Mouron
A.M. Cassandre was a painter, commercial poster artist, typeface designer, and stage designer. Born in 1901 in Charkov, Ukraine, Cassandre went to Paris in 1915, studying painting at the ƒcole des Beaux-Arts and the AcadŽmie Julian. For a while he worked as a student at the Hachard & Co. press. In the 1920s A.M. Cassandre belonged to avant-garde circles and had many well-known friends in artistic, musical and social circles. A.M. Cassandre earned a reputation as the designer of bold, stringently geometric posters in the Art dŽco style. A.M. Cassandre received his first commission for a large poster from the Paris furniture store Au Bžcheron in 1923. He designed hundreds of posters - many of them, like this one, classics in the language of Art Deco design and decor. A.M. Cassandre designed posters in a stringently Constructive formal language that pays obvious tribute to the power of the machine and shows influences of Cubism and other Art Deco artists who were working in Paris at the time. Cassandre also developed typefaces and taught at the ƒcole des Arts DŽcoratifs. He had his own art school until 1935. Between 1936 and 1939 A.M.Cassandre lived in in New York, where he freelanced as a commercial artist. In 1939 A.M. Cassandre returned to Paris, where he continued to work as a graphic designer, designed stage sets, and again turned to painting. In 1963 A.M. Cassandre designed the Yves Saint Laurent monogram. Cassandre's private life was hectic and often unhappy - often married, he had unsuccessfully attempted suicide before his final, successful attempt in 1968. This poster appeared in a promotional book issed on the 125th anniversary of the Smeets publishing company. The spiral-bound book was published 'first and foremost as a guide to those who, in some way or another have to do with printing'.
7 x 12,5 (Matted to 12 x 16,5)
#1064