ANTONI CLAVÉ (1913 -2005) BALLETS DE PARIS / ROLAND PETIT. 1953.
30 1/4x46 1/4 inches, 77x117 1/2. St. Martin, Paris.
Condition A- / B+: restoration along vertical and horizontal folds; repaired tears at edges; repaired pin-holes in corners.
Clavé began his career in the early 1930s in Barcelona as a poster designer for the movies. After fighting with the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War, he emigrated to France, where he eventually settled. He is known today as one of the most important postwar Spanish artists, using fabric, newspaper, and other materials in order to build esoteric collages. In the early 1950s, he also worked for the theater as a poster artist, costume designer, and stage decorator. This poster, which is for the prestigious Roland Petit Ballet Company that performed in the 1953 season at the Théâtre de l'Empire, is typical of Clavé's vivid and colorful style. For one of the ballets of the season, Carmen (based on the opera by Bizet), Clavé also designed the costumes and sets. Printed in three sizes, this is the medium format. rare