CHARLES LOUPOT (1892-1962) LE TRACTEUR AUSTIN. 1928. 46 3/4x62 1/4 inches, 119x159 1/2 cm. Les Belles Affiches, Paris. Condition B+: restoration along vertical and horizontal folds. Loupot's advertisement for a tractor is a sophisticated change from the majority of advertising for similar products. Traditionally, artists would merely provide detailed renderings of a machine. Loupot forgoes the object itself and instead focuses on its function; its ability to help a farmer accomplish enormous amounts of work. The mise en page is as brilliant as the concept, taking advantage of the horizontal format and utilizing the effectiveness of the diagonal to suggest a steep incline, Loupot fills the majority of the image with the furrows of a rich, plowed field. The tractor itself, working against the grain of the field, (implying the strength of the machine), appears in the small triangle of sky in the upper corner. Loupot's talent as a master lithographer, using vibrant, warm colors, turns this poster into a masterpiece of advertising artwork. Loupot / Zagrodski p. 73.
