May 21, 2009 - Sale 2181

Sale 2181 - Lot 132

Price Realized: $ 1,320
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 700 - $ 1,000
BERNARD VILLEMOT (1911-1989) UNIC / BELLES CHAUSSURES. 1954.
62 1/4x46 inches, 158x117 cm. S.A. Courbet, Paris.
Condition A.
After the ravages of WWII, commercial advertising had a rebirth in France in the early 1950s. Bernard Villemot, son of the well-known cartoonist and humorist Jean Villemot, produced government and political posters during the war years. Beginning in the late '40s, he began designing commercial posters for French movies, Air France and Unic. Although these works were produced long before the artist reached his mature, and recognizable style, one can see in these images that he is beginning to simplify his designs and develop his unique look. With a few simple bold colors against a white background, Villemot's matter-of-fact style and elegant forms showcase the brand in a clear and effective manner. Jean Fenestrier (1850-1922), whose father, Joseph, had founded Unic in the shoe capital of Romans, commissioned A.M. Cassandre to promote the brand in the 1930s. Although clearly influenced by Cassandre's original design (see Modernist Poster auction #1859 lot 15, and Modernist Poster auction #2145 lot 84), Villemot has taken a different approach by creating a sense of movement, rather than just presenting the shoe as an object. Unic reflects the beginning of Villemot's post-war simplicity and international graphic style, which is even more evident in his later iconic designs for Bally, Orangina and Perrier. Villemot 99, Graphis 57 p. 32.