ADOLPHE MOURON CASSANDRE (1901-1968) GRAND SPORT. 1925. 311/2x23 inches. Hachard & Co., Paris. Condition A-: minor restoration along horizontal fold; abrasions in image. One of the first fashion advertising posters to show the direct influence of Cubism with the figure's face and profile represented at the same time. Some have suggested that Cassandre was influenced by Picasso's 1913 painting , but this is unlikely as Cassandre was only 12 years old at the time and the painting quickly passed into private hands. What is sure is that it is one of Cassandre's first images in which he finds his own style. The manner in which the legibility and message are achieved, through a strict geometrical approach tempered with shimmering airbrush treatment around the solid colors, became the artist's signature for years. The minimal white outlining of the head is also unique, and Cassandre tops it off with the hat, done in a light, eye-catching color, which is rendered in a much softer, realistic stylization. The rigorous vertical composition is completed by the elegant, hand-drawn, sans-serif lettering. This is the smaller of two sizes. Mouron pl. 3, Cassandre / Suntory 5, Brown & Reinhold 7.
