This original 1964 French event poster was designed by Jules Cavaillès to promote the celebrated Nice Carnival. Held from 1 to 13 February, that year’s festivities adopted the theme Le Roi de la Danse, or “The King of Dance.”
Two monumental costumed figures dominate the composition, rising above a lively procession filled with performers, flags and Mediterranean vegetation. One carries a colourful bouquet, while the elegant poses and theatrical costumes evoke the masked balls, parades and flower battles traditionally associated with the carnival.
Cavaillès uses loosely applied areas of blue, yellow, pink, green and black to create a joyful sense of movement and spontaneity. Printed by Mourlot in Paris, this poster printed in lithograph combines expressive, painterly imagery with the artist’s fluid handwritten title.
Jules Cavaillès was a French painter and printmaker associated with the group known as the Painters of Poetic Reality. Celebrated for his luminous colours and optimistic subject matter, he brought the same decorative sensitivity to landscapes, interiors, still lifes and poster designs.
A joyful and highly decorative example of French cultural advertising, this original poster would make an excellent addition to a collection devoted to the French Riviera, carnival traditions, modern French painting or mid-century graphic design.
Original poster
Show - Côte d'Azur - Alpes-Maritimes
Mourlot
Good condition, light folds
Sign up & benefit from discounts or exclusive offers.