Air France - French Riviera - Villemot

While many posters promoting travel to the French Riviera showcase the scenic beaches, this lively poster by Bernard Villemot for Air France instead instills the vivacity of the busy port towns along this famous shoreline. Modern cars zip past a bustling square overlooking the water, with casinos and boats in the distance. Above it all proudly flies an Air France jet. This is the English variant of this poster.

Bernard Villemot (1911-1989) was one of the foremost poster artists in the 1960’s and 1970’s, known for his innovative design and use of color. Born into a bourgeoisie family, his artistic pursuit was encouraged by his father, who was a well-known cartoonist. Villemot received training at the famous L’Ecole Paul, a school for poster artists founded and taught by famed poster artist Paul Colin. To many, he represents the end of the age when most of the poster designers were trained artists. As the world began to shift in the 1960s towards ad agencies and graphic design implemented by art departments, Villemot stood firm in his belief that the only way to advertise effectively "was to treat a poster as though it were a painting". His distinctive style was commissioned by many prominent advertisers, most notably Orangina, Perrier, and Bally.

Air France was formed in 1933 through a merger of several smaller international companies. These smaller airlines had already built extensive networks across the world, and when combined under the Air France umbrella they created an exciting accessibility to fliers. Air France remains one of the most highly regarded international airlines, servicing 78 countries around the world. It served as France's primary national flag carrier for seven decades prior to its 2003 merger with KLM.

Posters have always been essential to Air France’s communications. It has one of the greatest collections in the world with over 1500 posters created by the most famous illustrators. Air France posters are usually striking, with few words, and depict destinations as dream-like and air travel as making dreams come true.

This is an Original Vintage Poster; it is not a reproduction. This poster is conservation mounted, linen backed, and in excellent condition. We guarantee the authenticity of all of our posters.