ADOLPHE MOURON CASSANDRE (1901-1968) ALGERIE / TUNISIE / MAROC. 1927. 43x28 1/2 inches, 109 1/4x72 1/2 cm. Hachard & Cie., Paris. Condition B: extensive overpainting and replaced losses in margins and lower text; extensive repaired tears from lower margins into central image; repaired tears, creases and overpainting in image. S.A.G.A. specialized in sending freight to Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, which belonged to the French Colonial Empire in 1927. Cassandre cleverly uses the black hull of a moored ship as background to make a brightly-colored packing crate stand out even more vibrantly. The crate itself is subject to the standard though excellent tricks of perspective that were among Cassandre's visual calling cards. The sides of the crate fade diagonally, creating an almost 3-dimensional impression. The overall treatment is geometric, although the artist hasn't yet achieved the purity of the more classic steamship images still to come. Mouron 8, Suntory 68, Reina Sofia p. 158, Cassandre / Weill 47.
