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Fernand Mourlot (; 5 April 1895 – 4 December 1988), son of Jules Mourlot, was the director of Mourlot Studios and founder of Editions Mourlot.


Early life and career

Fernand Mourlot was born on 5 April 1895 in Paris, France. He was the sixth of nine children of Jules Mourlot and Clemence Gadras. In 1911, at the age of 16, he was admitted as a student to the
École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs The École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ÉnsAD, also known as Arts Decos', École des Arts Décoratifs) is a public grande école of art and design of PSL Research University. The school is located in the Rue d'Ulm in Paris. Profil ...
where he studied drawing. After his studies he joined his father and older brothers in the family business, the "Imprimerie J. Mourlot". In 1914, Jules Mourlot, through the sale of Russian bonds, would begin expanding the studios, eventually opening a second location on rue St. Maur and purchasing Imprimerie Bataille on rue de Chabrol. That year, the three eldest Mourlot brothers were also drafted into the French Army and sent to the front. Paul, the oldest brother, would be killed shortly after the start of the war. Georges and Fernand would remain in the army through 1918 and would both participate in many battles including the
Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and ...
. While at the front, they would learn in 1917 of the death of their mother Clemence. Upon their return, they rejoined their father in the business. Georges, the eldest, would head the operations of the studios, while Fernand would concentrate on the artistic side and business development. At the death of their father in 1921, the name of the studios was changed to "Mourlot Freres" (Mourlot Brothers), with Georges and Fernand heading the company, while the other siblings became minority holders in the business.


Contribution to lithographic posters

In 1923, Mourlot won a contract to produce an original lithographic poster to promote an exhibition of French Modern Art in Copenhagen, Denmark. A few years later, through the friendship he had developed with the writer Georges Duhamel, himself a former veteran of World War I, Fernand Mourlot met the painter
Maurice de Vlaminck Maurice de Vlaminck (4 April 1876 – 11 October 1958) was a French painter. Along with André Derain and Henri Matisse, he is considered one of the principal figures in the Fauvism, Fauve movement, a group of modern artists who from 1904 to ...
. In 1926 the three men worked closely on the production of what became the first of many illustrated books printed by Mourlot Studios. 1930 marked the start of another important and long lasting cooperation: the one between Mourlot and the director of the French National Museums. That year, the Studios printed a poster for the hundred year anniversary of Romanticism and another poster to promote the retrospective of Delacroix's work at the
Musée du Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the '' Venus de Milo''. A central ...
. These were followed in 1932 by a poster for an exhibition of Édouard Manet's work at the
Musée de l'Orangerie The Musée de l'Orangerie ( en, Orangery Museum) is an art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings located in the west corner of the Tuileries Garden next to the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The museum is most famous as the ...
, and in 1934, a poster of
Honoré Daumier Honoré-Victorin Daumier (; February 26, 1808February 10, 1879) was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the Revolution of 1830 to the fall of the second Na ...
's work at the
Bibliothèque Nationale A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
. By 1937, Mourlot Studios had become the largest printer of artistic posters and was often hired by French and foreign museums, such as the Tate Gallery, to produce high quality posters for their upcoming exhibitions. That year, two more historically important posters for Pierre Bonnard and Henri Matisse would be created for the exhibition of the ''Art Independent'' at the Petit Palais. They would lead to a crucial meeting between Mourlot and Matisse and would usher the next chapter in the history of the Mourlot Studios.


Original limited fine art prints

For some time, Fernand Mourlot had been inviting artists to come and work on location at the Mourlot Studios to create original graphic works of art. In previous decades they had been limited to having their work reproduced into prints by craftsmen. A few artists like Vuillard, Vlaminck and Utrillo had taken him up on the offer with successful results. But it was only through meeting Henri Matisse and subsequently, the publisher Teriade, that other major artists truly became intrigued. In the late 1930s, the studios printed several illustrations and covers for Teriade's artistic review ''Verve''. Through this collaboration, Fernand Mourlot would develop friendships with many of the famous artists of the time such as
Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...
and Georges Braque. Unfortunately, all major projects were put on hold due to the events of World War II. During the German occupation, most of the artistic and commercial production of the studios slowed considerably. Fernand Mourlot spent most of his time with the fictitious administration of other printing studios (Imprimerie Union), owned by Jewish friends and colleagues, thus avoiding the forced transfer of their assets to the state, and to the production of forged identification papers. Still, two notable events for Mourlot would take place during those years. The first was a collaboration with the gallery owner Louis Carré that would bring works with Georges Rouault and
Raoul Dufy Raoul Dufy (; 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French Fauvism, Fauvist painter. He developed a colorful, decorative style that became fashionable for designs of ceramic art, ceramics and textile as well as decorative schemes for public bu ...
; the other was an introduction by the writer
Jean Paulhan Jean Paulhan (2 December 1884 – 9 October 1968) was a French writer, literary critic and publisher, director of the literary magazine ''Nouvelle Revue Française'' (NRF) from 1925 to 1940 and from 1946 to 1968. He was a member (Seat 6, 1963–68 ...
, to the artist Jean Dubuffet and the first book publishing ventures by Fernand Mourlot in 1944, with the creation of "Les Murs", poems by Guillevic and "Matiere et Memoire" with a text by Francis Ponge.


Post-war

In October 1945, encouraged by Henri Matisse and Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso meets with Fernand Mourlot. A few days after the meeting, the artist decides to dedicate himself to the lithographic medium. This first visit will last four months. With days often starting at 8:30 in the morning and finishing well after 8:00 in the evening, Picasso will thoroughly explore the lithographic process. This experience will usher in a collaboration with the Mourlot studio that would last almost three decades and produce over 400 different graphic images and editions. '' Le Taureau'' was the initial lithograph made by Mourlot and Picasso.


References

*''Les Hommes Abandonnés'', Georges Duhamel, M. Vlaminck, 1923, Marcel Seheur Publisher. *''Souvenirs et Portraits d'Artistes'', F. Mourlot, 1973, A.C. Mazo publisher. *''Gravés dans ma Mémoire'', F. Mourlot, 1979, Editions Robert Laffont. *''Twentieth Century Posters'', Fernand Mourlot, Wellfleet Press, Secaucus, New Jersey 1989


External links


History of 20th Century Lithography by Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Braque, Leger and others in the ''Atelier Mourlot'', French Institute Alliance Française
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mourlot, Fernand 1895 births 1988 deaths Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs alumni