PRIVAT LIVEMONT (1861-1936) CABOURG. 1896. 29x42 inches, 73x106 3/4 cm. P. Leménil, Asnières. Condition B+ / B: repaired tears in margins and image; vertical and horizontal folds; minor losses in text at top. Matted and framed. An enchanting travel poster that stands alone within its genre. For the French seaside resort (famous among other reasons, as the place where Marcel Proust would stay), Livemont depicts one of his classic, Art Nouveau maidens, with diaphanous gown and flowing hair. What makes this poster unique is both the incongruous manner that this beauty is placed in the ocean and the humorous nature of the bobbing heads of lecherous holiday makers surrounding her. From a traditional point of view Livemont depicts the resort's casino in the background, but his graphic rendition of the waves is boldly original, and a treatment he would reuse in 1897 for a decorative panel called "the wave." DFP-II 1061, Maitres 88.
