Lot 68: GUSTAVE LORAIN (1882-?) ART ET DECORATION. 1899. / ECOLE DU DESSIN. 1900. Two posters.

Sizes vary, each approximately 26x18 inches. Le Mercier & Malherbe.
Condition varies, generally A-: minor creases and discoloration in margins. Paper.
Gustave Lorain studied at the famed Ecole Guerin, where such renowned artists as Puvis de Chavannes, Jules Chaplain and Luc-Olivier Merson were teachers. The most revered of all was Eugene Grasset, who taught there from 1890 until the school closed in 1903. Lorain clearly paid attention in class as these two posters strictly adhere to Grasset's style: neo-classical rigid ladies surrounded by nature and practical typography arrayed across the top of the poster. His obvious talent won him the commission to design the Art et Decoration poster (it was for a periodical closely associated with the school), and perhaps result, he was chosen to advertise the school itself the following year. These posters are rare documents relating to the pedagogic dissemination of Art Nouveau in France. DFP-II 544, Femme s'Affiche 78.