?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 15,000 - $ 20,000
ADOLPHE MOURON CASSANDRE (1901-1968) LA ROUTE BLEUE. 1929. 39 1/4x24 1/4 inches, 99 1/2x61 1/2 cm. L. Danel, Lille. Condition A-: minor repaired tears and abrasions at edges; slightly unevenly-trimmed edges; printer's crease in image. Framed. La Route Bleue was a luxury bus line that connected London and Paris with the French Riviera. Although the perspective is the same as in l'Etoile du Nord, the image itself is much more elaborate and Cassandre uses details to build a magical, fascinating mood. The focal point of the poster is the distant horizon at the end of a tree-lined road; the glowing light of the setting sun from that focal point causes a sophisticated gradation of blues in the sky and along the road. But unlike l'Etoile du Nord, here Cassandre has created an incredible sense of motion. As if the viewer were seated in a moving vehicle, the pavement at the side of the road is clearly visible but the trees are flying by so fast that they form a sharp geometric blur in which their white outlines don't match up with their coloration. Cassandre goes one step further, making the space between the passing trees take on the form of the windows of a bus. Alain Weill describes the effect as the work of "virtuoso within a system he has completely mastered" (Cassadre / Weill p. 56). This is the French version. Mouron / Cassandre pl. 17, Cassandre / Weill 54, Suntory no. 58, p. 82, Reina Sofia p. 165, Avant Garde p. 157, Modern Poster 153, Affiche Art Deco p. 16, Crouse p. 305, MoMA 435.1976.
