A. M. Cassandre

A. M. Cassandre (real name: Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron) – born 24. 1. 1901 in Kharkov, Ukraine, died 17. 6. 1968 in Paris, France – graphic designer, type designer, painter, set-designer, teacher.

1918: studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, at the Académie Julian and with painter Lucien Simon in his studio in Paris. 1921: starts designing posters. 1922: has his first studio in Montparnasse in Paris, signs his works for the first time with the pseudonym "Cassandre". 1930: starts producing work for the Nicolas company. 1933: produces his first work as a set-designer. Teaches at the Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs. 1934–35: teaches at the Ecole d’Arts Graphiques. 1935: designs posters for French, Swiss ad Italian clients. 1936: contract with "Harper’s Bazaar" magazine, New York, for various covers. 1939: returns to France. Works for the theater and the ballet and produces work in the field of free painting. 1948: co-founder of the AGI (Alliance Graphique International). Until 1959 he produces sets for Aix-en-Provence, the Comédie Française, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich and for stages in Florence. 1962: is made an officer of the Legion of Honor. 1963: designs Yves Saint-Laurent’s trademark. With his combination of applied and free design, Cassandre was a model in the field of graphic design for several decades.

Exhibitions: retrospective poster exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (1936), Galerie René Drouin (paintings, 1942), Galerie Motte, Geneva (1966), Galerie Janine Hao, Paris (1966), Rijksakademie in Amsterdam (1967).

Fonts: Bifur (1929), Acier (1930), Acier Noir (1936), Peignot™ (1937), Touraine (with Charles Peignot, 1947), Cassandre (1968).

Publications include: R. K. Brown, S. Reinhold "The Poster Art of A. M. Cassandre", New York 1979; Henri Mouron "Cassandre", Munich 1985.

* TYPOGRAPHY – An Encyclopedic Survey of Type Design and Techniques Throughout History by Friedrich Friedl, Nicolaus Ott (Editor), Bernard Stein, published by Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH.
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Poster (1929)

The poster Normandie (1935) is Cassandre's most famous design [From Wikipedia]