Bernard Villemot (1911,

Trouville-sur-Mer Trouville-sur-Mer (, literally ''Trouville on Sea''), commonly referred to as Trouville, is a city of 4,603 inhabitants in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Trouville-sur-Mer borders Deauville across the ...

– 2002 was a French

graphic artist A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming l ...

, known primarily for his advertising images for

Orangina Orangina () is a lightly carbonated beverage made from carbonated water, 12% citrus juice (10% from concentrated Orange juice, orange, 2% from a combination of concentrated Lemon juice, lemon, concentrated mandarin orange, mandarin, and concentr ...

Bally Shoe Bally International Ltd. is a Swiss luxury fashion house and company founded in 1851 by brothers Carl Franz Bally and Fritz Bally based in Caslano, Switzerland. Traditionally the brand was most known for its shoes but has ever since also di ...

Perrier Perrier ( , also , ) is a French brand of bottled water marketed as coming from its source in Vergèze, located in the Gard '' département''. Perrier was part of the Perrier Vittel Group SA, which became Nestlé Waters France after the acqu ...

, and

Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...

. He was known for a sharp artistic vision that was influenced by photography, and for his ability to distill an advertising message to a memorable image with simple, elegant lines and bold colors."When It Comes To Posters, Collectors Can't Afford To Get Hung Up On The Masters"
Pqasb.pqarchiver.com (25 September 1988). Retrieved 20 October 2011.

Early life and education

From 1932 to 1934, Villemot studied in Paris with artist Paul Colin,Villemot (1911–1989) – Les Arts Décoratifs – Site officiel
Lesartsdecoratifs.fr. Retrieved 20 October 2011. who was considered a master of

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

Career

From 1945 to 1946, Villemot prepared posters for the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. In the late 1940s, he also began a famous series of travel posters for Air France that would continue for decades. In 1949, Villemot's works were exhibited with those of his contemporary poster artist

Raymond Savignac Raymond Savignac (; 6 November 1907, Paris, – 29 October 2002, Trouville-sur-Mer), often just abbreviated to "Savignac", was a French graphic artist famous for his commercial posters. His work is distinguished by a humorous simplicity. Self-tau ...

at the gallery of the

Beaux-Arts de Paris The (), formally the (), is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level fine arts education and training. The art school, which is part of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is located on two sites: Saint-G ...

. In 1953, Villemot began designing logos and posters for the new

soft drink A soft drink (see #Terminology, § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) Carbonated water, carbonated, and typically including added Sweetness, sweetener. Flavors used to be Natural flav ...

Orangina, and over time these works would become some of his best known. In 1963, the

Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris The Musée des Arts Décoratifs (, English: ''Museum of Decorative Arts'') is a museum in Paris, France, dedicated to the exhibition and preservation of the decorative arts. Located in the city’s 1st arrondissement, the museum occupies the P ...

held an exhibition of his works. By the end of his life, he was known as one of the last great poster artists, and many collectors and critics consider him to be the "painter-laureate of modern

commercial art Commercial art is the art of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. Commercial art uses a variety of platforms (magazines, websites, apps, television, etc.) for viewers with the intent of promo ...

." Since Villemot's death, his memorable images have been increasingly sought after by collectors. At least three books have been published that survey his art: ''Les affiches de Villemot'' by Jean-Francois Bazin (1985); ''Villemot: l'affiche de A à Z'' by Guillaume Villemot (2005); and ''Embracing an Icon: The Posters of Bernard Villemot'' by George H. Bon Salle (2015).WorldCat
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villemot, Bernard Place of death missing Date of death missing 1911 births 2002 deaths 20th-century French male artists Académie Julian alumni French advertising artists and illustrators Artists from Normandy Artists from Paris French graphic designers French poster artists People from Trouville-sur-Mer