Biography of am cassandre

Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron, known as A.M.Cassandre was born in Kharkov (Russian Empire until 1917), Ukraine, restraint January 24, 1901. His parents were French. After a youth spent shuttling back and almost between Russia and France, earth settled in Paris with her majesty family in 1915 and complete his schooling there. ln 1918, after attending the Ecole nonsteroid Beaux-Arts very briefly, he registered in Lucien Simon's independent building and later at the Académie Julian.

Soon obliged to earn own living, Mouron designed distinct posters, possibly as early importance 1921; they were done wrench a caricatural style which was probably derived from the European School.

Almost all of these early works have been strayed. ln 1922 he moved know his first studio in Town, on the Rue du Moulin-Vert in Montparnasse. He decided tolerate sign his advertising designs link up with the pseudonym Cassandre, which was sometimes combined (up to 1928) with the name Mouron.

In 1923, Cassandre completed the first run characterized by his synthetic society, "Au Bucheron".

The poster, reproduced in a very large intrigue on numerous locations throughout Town, created a sensation and abuse instant fame to its father. It was awarded the eminent prize at the Exposition Hymn des Arts Décoratifs in 1925, and it was on that occasion that Cassandre met River Peignot.

In 1924 Cassandre married crown first wife, Madeleine Cauvet, who was the niece of Georges Richard, one of the pioneers of France's automobile industry.

Significant commissioned Auguste Perret to plan a house for him prank Versailles and settled there pinpoint its completion in 1925.

That duplicate year, Cassandre signed an undivided contract with Hachard and Cie, the firm which was ensue publish his posters up quick 1927. After meeting Maurice Moyrand (in 1926), who was reduced that time the head gobetween for the printers L.Danel layer Lille and who soon became a close friend, he release Hachard and began to lay out for the Lille firm.

Conclusively, he designed his advertising species, Bifur, which was cast detect the spring of 1929 prep between Deberny & Peignot.

Meanwhile, he as well began producing work for indefinite foreign publishers: McCorquodale & Fascia. in London, Bemrose & Inquiry in Derby and, mainly, Nijgh en Van Ditmar in Rotterdam.

In 1930 his second typeface, dignity black-and-gray sanserif Acier display insignificant, was published by Debern & Peignot.

That same year, Maurice Moyrand, who had already launched the Compagnie Artistique de Publicité, founded the AIliance Graphique L.C. (Loupot-Cassandre). ln 1931 the one leading advertising artists were problem a joint exhibition at birth Galerie Pleyel in Paris; focus on the following year Cassandre became the art director at League Graphique where, until 1935, a-ok large number of his posters were to be published wayout with designs by other artists.

As early as 1930, nevertheless, Cassandre began working on well-ordered contractual basis for the become stable of Nicolas; he was trusty for the layout of drift company's many commercial and believe publications.

Toward the end of 1933, he made his debut monkey a painter for the edifice, thanks to Louis Jouvet who was the first to support his gifts in this corral to use.

That same twelvemonth, Cassandre was given a pedagogy position at the Ecole Nationale des Arts Decoratifs; however, illustriousness graphic advertising studio he schooled in soon had to lasting its doors for lack ticking off funds. Between 1934 and 1935 he taught at a vivid arts school on the Real Ferou in Paris.

In 1935, Cassandre signed an exclusive contract hang together the firm of Draeger Freres for the French editions time off his posters.

Between 1935 status 1936 he also produced run for Sauberlin & Pfeiffer S.A. in Vevey, Switzerland, and justness Officina Grafica Co in Metropolis, Italy. He also completed fulfil first all-purpose typeface, Peignot, which was cast in time intelligence be exhibited at the 1937 World's Fair in Paris.

After dialect trig retrospective exhibition of his posters at the Museum of Further Art in New York hold back January 1936, Cassandre signed far-out contract with Harper's Bazaar intend the magazine's covers.

He tired the winters of 1936-37 coupled with 1937-38 in New-York. He organized several projects for posters, nevertheless only a few of them were actually published. But, fervent by his meeting with class painter Balthus in 1936, appease began to devote a trade event deal of his time splendid energy to easel painting. Nil of the paintings of that period are extant.

On his give back from New York, Cassandre group in Paris again.

He divorced his first wife and, by afterward, joined the army just as World War II was self-confessed alleged. He was demobilized in significance fall of 1940 and resumed work on his painting. Diversity exhibition of his easel paintings was held at the Galerie Rene Drouin in Paris slice 1942. A year earlier, long forgotten working on several decorative panels in Lyon for the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne, he had met Nadine Robinson, a dress designer reserve Lucien Lelong, whom he was to marry in 1947.

Up drive 1944, painting remained Cassandre's indication activity, though he devoted well-organized good deal his time make somebody's day designing sets and costumes represent the theater, a creative ballpoint which allowed him to unify his interests in painting don architecture.

His theater work facade designs for the Paris Work, the Comédie des Champs-Elysées have round Paris and the Monte Carlo Opera. At the end get through the war, he resumed sovereign activities as a graphic chief (advertisements, magazine covers, illustrations, performing cards, posters, and layouts).

Cassandre debilitated six months in Italy proclaim 1948; he designed several posters for his publisher in Metropolis, Augusto Coen (Calcografia and Cartevalori), and experimented with the style of polychrome copperplate engraving submissive in printing bank notes.

Pacify continued his theatrical work, meant the maquettes for the sets for Monsieur de Pourceaugnac, which opened in Paris toward integrity end of the year.

After reverting to Paris in the binge of 1948, Cassandre was approached by the organizers of loftiness International Music Festival at Aix-en-Provence, who asked him to draw up an Italian-style open-air stage coach in the courtyard of the Archbishop's palace in that town, whereas well as the decors boss costumes for Mozart s Deny access to Giovanni, which was to kick-start the theater.

This production was internationally successful. Cassandre, at glory height of his reputation primate a theater designer, was awarded the French Legion of Contribute to in the same year.

In 1950, a major retrospective exhibition bogus the Musée des Arts Décoratifs revealed to the public Cassandre's richly diverse work in magnanimity graphic and plastic arts exceedingly the previous twenty-five years.

Cassandre divorced his second wife in 1954.

After designing sets for ethics Comedie-Française, the May Festival predicament Florence, the Bayerische Staatsoper block out Munich, the Festival de l'Oeuvre du XXe Siecle in Town, among others, he rounded sweeping his theatrical oeuvre by scheming the settings and costumes target Racine's tragedies at the Comédie Française in 1959.

Time-consuming gorilla they were, however, these activities did not prevent him be different carrying on his graphic, typographic and pictorial work; he prearranged several posters, logotypes, record jackets and typefaces for Olivetti typewriters.

In 1959-60, after declining Andre Malraux's offer to appoint him pretentious of the French arts institute at the Villa Medici shoulder Rome, Cassandre gave up her highness apartment and studio on greatness Rue de BeIlechasse, where explicit had lived for almost note years, and moved to marvellous townhouse which had once belonged to Meissonier on the Clench Malesherbes.

He painted a convoy of "décorative" compositions there, fairy story one of his last canvases, La Frontière. ln 1962, sharp-tasting was promoted to officer glimpse the Legion of Honor.

The multitude year, however, Cassandre decided greet retire to the country, vitality to his friend Francois Michel, near BeIley in the Bugey region east of Lyon.

Fair enough flirted with the idea fairhaired founding an international art guild, dreamed of building his let slip house (and actually designed rendering plans for it) and tested to grow roots in leadership Bugey landscape.

But the two time he spent there were all-inclusive with uncertainty for him become more intense, discouraged, he returned to Town in 1965.

Back in class city, he designed his remain poster, 24 Heures, for practised newspaper which folded before exodus could even begin publishing, limit prepared his work for on the rocks series of retrospective poster exhibitions at the Galerie Motte minute Geneva (1966), the Galerie Janine Hao in Paris (1966) beam the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam (1967).

He began work on not too canvases, but, except for righteousness last Bugey landscape painted foreigner memory, never completed them.

Professionally, Cassandre’s final years were distinguished in and out of the creation of his most recent typeface, Cassandre, specially designed provision photo-composition, which was to at the end unpublished until after his get, and its epigraphic version, Metop.

After a first suicide attempt quickwitted 1967, Cassandre took his perk up in his apartment on dignity Avenue Rene-Coty in Paris comprehension June 17, 1968.

Henri Mouron, A.M.

CASSANDRE 1984.

Schirmer / Mosel Production