Editing Cassandre

{{short description|French painter and designer}}
{{for multi|the opera by Bertin de la Doué and Bouvard|Cassandre (opera)|the opera by Jarrell|Cassandre (Jarrell)}}
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{{Infobox person
| name               = Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron
| image              = Portret van A. M. Cassandre in Rijksacademie in Amsterdam, 1967.jpg
| alt                = A. M. Cassandre, 1967
| caption            = A.M. Cassandre
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1901|1|24|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Kharkiv]], [[Russian Empire]] (now [[Ukraine]])
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|df=y|1968|6|17|1901|1|24}}
| death_place        = [[Paris]], France
| nationality        = French
| occupation         = Painter, commercial poster artist, typeface designer
}}

'''Cassandre''', pseudonym of '''Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron'''<ref name="BnF">{{in lang|fr}} [http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb120831619/PUBLIC Notice d'autorité personne : Cassandre], [[Bibliothèque nationale de France|BnF]], according to the international pseudonym convention described in the BnF authority file.</ref> (24 January 1901 – 17 June 1968), was a French painter, commercial poster artist, and [[typeface]] designer.<ref>http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/01/24/cassandre/ Brainpickings - Cassandre, accessdate on 27 January 2013</ref><ref>[http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.B00033337 Benezit Dictionary of Artists]</ref>

==Early life and career==
He was born Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron in [[Kharkiv]], [[Slobidska Ukraine]]- autonomous unit within the Russian Empire,<ref name="identifont">{{cite web|url=http://www.identifont.com/show?10Y|title=Adolphe Mouron Cassandre (1901-1968)|last=O'Mahony|first=Niamh|access-date=7 August 2009}}</ref><ref>(ru)[http://bigenc.ru/fine_art/text/2050658 Great Russian Encyclopedia]</ref> to French parents. As a young man, he moved to Paris, where he studied at the [[École des Beaux-Arts]] and at the [[Académie Julian]]. The popularity of posters as advertising afforded him an opportunity to work for a Parisian printing house. Inspired by [[cubism]] as well as [[surrealism]], he earned a reputation with works such as ''Bûcheron'' (Woodcutter), a poster created for a cabinetmaker that won first prize at the 1925 [[Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes]].

Cassandre became successful enough that with the help of partners he was able to set up his own advertising agency called Alliance Graphique, serving a wide variety of clients during the 1930s. He is perhaps best known for his posters advertising travel, for clients such as the [[Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits]].<ref>[https://www.moma.org/artists/1015 See images at Moma.org]</ref> He was a pioneer of [[airbrush]] arts.

His creations for the [[Dubonnet]] wine company were among the first posters designed in a manner that allowed them to be seen by occupants in moving vehicles. His posters are memorable for their innovative graphic solutions and their frequent denotations to such painters as [[Max Ernst]] and [[Pablo Picasso]]. In addition, he taught [[graphic design]] at the [[École des Arts Décoratifs]] and then at the École d'Art Graphique.

With typography an important part of poster design, the company created several new typeface styles. Cassandre developed [[Bifur (typeface)|Bifur]] in 1929, the [[sans serif]] Acier Noir in 1935, and in 1937 an all-purpose font called [[Peignot (typeface)|Peignot]]. In 1936, his works were exhibited at the [[Museum of Modern Art]] in New York City which led to commissions from [[Harper's Bazaar]] to do cover designs.
<!-- Commented out: [[File:Normandie poster.jpg|220px|right|The poster ''[[SS Normandie|Normandie]]'' (1935) is one of Cassandre's most famous design]] -->

==Later career==
[[File:Poster Cassandre van de Étoile du Nord in een van de werkkamers, Bestanddeelnr 189-0330.jpg|thumb|Poster of ''Etoile Du Nord'' in a workroom]]
With the onset of [[World War II]], Cassandre served in the [[French army]] until the fall of France. His business long gone, he survived by creating stage sets and costumes for the theatre, something he had dabbled in during the 1930s.<ref>[http://www.lesarchivesduspectacle.net/?IDX_Personne=21552 Archives du spectacle]</ref> After the war, he continued this line of work while also returning to easel painting. He worked with several famous French fashion houses, designing playing cards and scarfs for [[Hermès]]<ref>[http://www.wopc.co.uk/france/cassandra-hermes The World of Playing Cards]</ref> and the well-known [[Yves Saint-Laurent (brand)|Yves Saint Laurent]] logo.

In his later years, Cassandre suffered from bouts of [[depression (mood)|depression]] prior to his suicide in Paris in June 1968.<ref name="identifont"/> He was buried in the Parisian [[Montparnasse Cemetery]] (8th division).

In 1985, his son Henri Mouron published a study of his father's work in a book titled ''A.M. Cassandre''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mouron |first=Henri |title=A. M. Cassandre |translator=Michael Taylor |publisher=Rizzoli |date=1985 |isbn=0-8478-0651-0}}</ref>

==Typeface==
These foundry types were produced by [[Deberny & Peignot]] from designs by Cassandre:<ref>Jaspert, W. Pincus, W. Turner Berry and A.F. Johnson. ''The Encyclopedia of Type Faces.'' Blandford Press Lts.: 1953, 1983, {{ISBN|0-7137-1347-X}}, p. 2408-249</ref>

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* Acier Noir (1936)
* Bifur (1929)
* [[Peignot (typeface)|Peignot]] (1937)
* Touraine (1947), with Charles Peignot
}}

==Notable works==
[[File:Opening decor en affiche-tentoonstelling van A. M. Cassandre (in voorgrond) in , Bestanddeelnr 920-3491.jpg|thumb|Opening of the decor and poster exhibition by A. M. Cassandre at the  [[Rijksacademie]], Amsterdam, 1967]]
* ''Nord Express'', 1925<ref>{{Cite web |last=Museum |first=Victoria and Albert |title=Nord Express {{!}} Cassandre, Adolphe Mouron {{!}} V&A Explore The Collections |url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O89673/ |access-date=2022-05-06 |website=Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections |language=en}}</ref>
* ''Etoile Du Nord'', 1927<ref>{{Cite web |title=A. M. Cassandre. Étoile du Nord. 1927 {{!}} MoMA |url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/5807 |access-date=2022-05-06 |website=The Museum of Modern Art |language=en}}</ref>
* ''La Route Bleue'', 1929<ref>{{Cite web |title=A. M. Cassandre. La Route Bleu, Londres-Paris-Côte D'Azur en Autocars de Luxe. 1929 {{!}} MoMA |url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/6924 |access-date=2022-05-06 |website=The Museum of Modern Art |language=en}}</ref>
* ''Chemin De Fer Du Nord'', 1929<ref>{{Cite web |title=A. M. Cassandre. Chemin De Fer Du Nord - Vitesse-Luxe-Confort. 1929 {{!}} MoMA |url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/83512 |access-date=2022-05-06 |website=The Museum of Modern Art |language=en}}</ref>
* ''L’ Atlantique'', 1931<ref>{{Cite web |title=L'atlantique, 1931 - Cassandre - WikiArt.org |url=https://www.wikiart.org/en/cassandre/l-atlantique-1931 |access-date=2022-05-06 |website=www.wikiart.org}}</ref>
* ''Triplex'', 1930<ref>{{Cite web |title=A. M. Cassandre. Triplex (Poster for a safety glass manufacturer). 1930 {{!}} MoMA |url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/5987 |access-date=2022-05-06 |website=The Museum of Modern Art |language=en}}</ref>
* ''Dubonnet'', 1932<ref>{{Cite web |title=A. M. Cassandre. Dubonnet, Vin Tonique au Quinquina. 1932 {{!}} MoMA |url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/6017 |access-date=2022-05-06 |website=The Museum of Modern Art |language=en}}</ref>
* ''Normandie'', 1935<ref>{{Cite web |title=A. M. Cassandre. Normandie. 1935 {{!}} MoMA |url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/6091 |access-date=2022-05-06 |website=The Museum of Modern Art |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

'''Other sources'''
* Robert K. Brown, Susan Reinhold: ''The poster art of A. M. Cassandre.'' - New York: Dutton, 1979
* Henri Mouron: ''A. M. Cassandre : affiches, arts graph., théâtre.'' - München: Schirmer/Mosel, 1985<br />published in English as ''Cassandre : Posters, Typography, Stage Designs'' - London: Thames and Hudson, 1986 ({{ISBN|0-500-23450-7}})

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|title=Design of the 20th Century|first1=Charlotte|last1=Fiell|first2=Peter|last2=Fiell|publisher=Taschen|location=Köln|edition=25th anniversary|year=2005|pages=145–146|isbn=9783822840788|oclc=809539744}}

==External links==
* [http://www.cassandre.fr/ Official french website with many samples of his work]
* [http://www.adcglobal.org/archive/hof/1972/?id=296 Art Directors Club biography, portrait and images of work] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080804180510/http://www.adcglobal.org/archive/hof/1972/?id=296 |date=4 August 2008 }}

{{Authority control (arts)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassandre, Adolphe Mouron}}
[[Category:1901 births]]
[[Category:1968 suicides]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:Artists from Kharkiv]]
[[Category:People from Kharkovsky Uyezd]]
[[Category:French graphic designers]]
[[Category:French poster artists]]
[[Category:Pseudonymous artists]]
[[Category:20th-century French painters]]
[[Category:Académie Julian alumni]]
[[Category:Artists who died by suicide]]
[[Category:Suicides in Paris]]