An oil painting on canvas, *La Lanterne Rouge* by Jean Gabriel DOMERGUE
An oil painting on canvas, *La Lanterne Rouge* by Jean Gabriel DOMERGUE
2.600,00 €
Book Cover Design Project
Jean Gabriel DOMERGUE 1889–1962
Painter, draftsman, illustrator, and creator of the "pin-up" style in painting.
He began his training at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris under two great classical painters, Lefebvre and Robert-Fleury.
At just 17 years old, he exhibited his first works at the Salon des Artistes Français and received his first honorable mention in 1908.
In 1913, he achieved a major milestone by winning second place in the Grand Prix de Rome.
This early phase of his career—the one from which our work is derived—is far more traditional than the image we have of the artist.
Further information
| Dimensions | 26 × 37 cm |
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Starting in the 1920s, he gradually developed what would become his signature style: tall, slender figures with long necks, large eyes, immense eyelashes, and sophisticated elegance.
His women can be found in theaters, at the opera, and at the racetracks.
Domergue became the painter of the chic Parisian woman and began a collaborative advertising campaign with Galeries Lafayette.
In the 1950s, he became the curator of the Jacquemart-André Museum.
Our project is based on Frédéric BOUTET’s book, published in 1914. It is a collection of short stories described as blending the sinister, the farcical, the poignant, the comical, and the heartwarming.
Domergue proposed several ideas because the title wasn’t chosen right away; one of them is called “Les Contes d’en bas,” where the title is written in black.
The title, painted in red—a reference to the book’s title—illuminates the canvas, which is painted in dark tones. It gently illuminates the figures in the foreground, evoking life on a small, working-class street in Paris.
Here, Domergue reveals his talent as an illustrator and an astonishing freedom of brushwork, straddling the line between painting, poster art, and editorial illustration.