JEAN A. MERCIER (1899-1995) FOIRE INTERNATIONALE DE MARSEILLE. 1927. 62x46 1/4 inches. Les Affiches Lutetia, Paris. Condition B+: repaired tears, creases and paper bubbling in margins and image; vertical and horizontal folds. Jean Mercier was born into the Cointreau family. He studied at the Beaux Arts school in Angers and at the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. His first commission was for his family's liquor business, but he quickly became recognized and received a lot of work designing product and film posters. His personal style entails elegant flat tones, the air brush and bold typography. Marseille, as this poster points out, was the port with key access to the Mediterranean market and the French colonies. In this strong, eye-catching composition, Mercier emphasizes the importance of the port via a dominating image of a liner's funnel. The port itself is indicated, not only through the text, but also in the background, where the artist depicts the two best known monuments of the city: the "pont transbordeur" (the Eiffel Tower of Marseille - which no longer exists) and the cathedral of Notre Dame de la Garde. Mercier p. 63.
