France Sports d’Hiver Vintage Skiing Poster – Bernard Villemot – 1948

France Sports d’Hiver Vintage Skiing Poster – 1948 Air France was formed on 7 October 1933. Over the decades since, the airline has been prolific in its use of posters to promote air travel to its many destinations. The company used the talents of some of the most innovative designers and artists of their time. The airline has more than 1500 posters to its name. All of which are striking works of art that showcase the airline company and its many different destinations around the world. Each poster captures the vibrant energy, beauty, and allure of a particular place. This striking vintage France Sports d’Hiver poster was created by the renowned French artist Bernard Villemot. Born in Trouville-sur-Mer in 1911, Villemot is probably best known for his poster designs for the Perrier and Orangina drinks company and Bally shoes. However, he did create many travel posters for the Air France airline company. The one listed on this page promotes France as a Winter Sports destination and is aimed primarily at skiers. The poster depicts half a dozen skiers on a descent from the Alpine mountain tops. However, rather than the sharp jagged mountain peaks so often depicted in skiing posters, Villemot has illustrated the mountain range in large, elegant sweeping strokes. The skiers are portrayed carving smooth, graceful arcs through fresh snow. The poster perfectly captures the beauty and thrill of this popular Alpine sport with a design that manages to both inspire and exhilarate. Bernard Villemot’s artistic style was initially influenced by the art deco movement, and you can see hints of that, in the work he produced throughout his career. However, over the years Villemot’s artwork developed into a unique, fresher more vibrant art style. Although his posters differ greatly, there is continuity throughout most of his work that ensures you can usually tell that he painted it. Originally trained in graphic design. His first poster was created to promote the In the Streets film by Victor Trivas. Villemot rose to prominence between 1945 and 1946 with a series of posters for the Red Cross, the Days of the Free French Forces and the French Mutual Aid. He went on to produce his first commercial posters for Air France a couple of years later. It was an association that would continue for decades. Today, his posters continue to be popular with fans of vintage graphics, and they serve as an enduring testament to his immense talent and creative vision. Through his innovative approach and enduring legacy, Villemot remains one of the most influential graphic designers in modern history. Original copies of this France Sports d’Hiver poster fetch upwards of £5,000 at auction.           Our posters are carefully and professionally created from vintage originals. Whilst great care is taken in the production of these posters, we also try to maintain a vintage feel, so there may be small imperfections, fold marks, scuffs, tears, or marks that were part of the original poster master. If these do appear they should be visible on the larger views of the item on this listing. The originals of many of the posters we offer can cost many thousands of pounds, so whilst these posters look great, especially framed and mounted on a wall, they are intended as fun, affordable reproductions and not intended fine art prints. The 50x70cm version has been specially produced to be used in conjunction with Ikea’s 50x70cm Ribba picture frame which currently retails for around £15. So you can bag a bargain of print and frame for a great price.