Page 110 - Swann Galleries - Modernist Posters - Sale 2314 - May 13, 2013

FRANCIS BERNARD (1900-1979)
128 ● AEG OLYMPIA. Circa 1935.
441/2x29 3/4 inches, 113x75 1/2 cm. Paul Martial, Paris.
Condition B / B+: repaired tears, creases, abrasions, restoration and overpainting in margins and image;
foxing in lower right corner; horizontal creases.
A graphically appealing photomontage with an almost hypnotic array of diagonal lines (the poster’s
title parallel with the typewriter’s cartridge, and a line of text rising to echo the motion of paper being
removed). One of two posters designed by Bernhard for the same product, the other one featuring a
man typing against a green background. [1,200/1,800]
FRANCIS BERNARD (1900-1979)
129 ● BAREME DES PRIX. Circa 1935.
391/2x24 inches, 1001/4x61 cm. Paul Martial, Paris.
Condition A- / B+: repaired tear in upper left edge, affecting image; restoration, overpainting and light
staining in upper left corner; minor creasing and restoration at edges.
The French modernist poster designers of the Art Deco period, including Cassandre, Carlu and Loupot
did not use photography very often in their designs. Rather, they were clearly more at ease with a
pencil and an airbrush. The only member of the U.A.M. (Union des Artistes Modernes) who made
systematic use of photography was Francis Bernard. In 1930, L’Affiche magazine quoted him as
declaring, “I intend to combine film and lithographic stone even more than I have so far.” In the
1930s, he was the creative director at the Paul Martial studio, and we can assume by looking at the
construction of this poster that it was designed by Bernard himself, or certainly under his close
direction. The difficult subject (how to calculate shipping rates for parcels), is presented clearly and
efficiently via the strict organization of the layout and the two photographs. [800/1,200]
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