{"product_id":"cote-dazur-air-france","title":"Côte d'Azur - Air France","description":"\u003ch4\u003eAbout the poster\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOriginal Air France travel poster from 1952, designed by the French artist Jacques Auriac. The poster promotes the French Riviera, Côte d’Azur, one of Europe’s most desirable holiday destinations for generations. The motif perfectly captures the glamour, elegance, and optimism that defined international travel culture in the early 1950s. In the foreground stands a stylish woman wearing a white swimsuit, sunhat, and sunglasses, while the deep blue Mediterranean Sea, yachts, palm trees, marinas, and characteristic landscapes of southern France unfold behind her. Above the coastline, an Air France aircraft flies across the sky, symbolising the modern age of air travel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe composition is an excellent example of post-war French poster art. Auriac combines bold colours, simplified forms, and an almost painterly approach to create a work that functions both as effective advertising and as decorative art. Intense shades of blue dominate the image and reinforce the exclusive atmosphere of the Riviera, while warm sandy tones, green palms, and red accents add life and contrast.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJacques Auriac (1922–2003) was one of France’s most celebrated poster artists during the second half of the twentieth century. Working as a painter, illustrator, and graphic designer, he created numerous posters for Air France, tourism organisations, cultural institutions, and international companies. His work is distinguished by a rare ability to combine artistic quality with commercial communication. Auriac received several prestigious awards throughout his career and is today regarded as one of the most important French poster designers of the post-war era. His original works, particularly his colourful travel posters from the 1950s and 1960s, remain highly sought after by collectors around the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis poster was printed by Perceval-Paris, a respected Parisian printing house responsible for many of the finest advertising and travel posters of the period. Like many of Air France’s most desirable posters, it was produced using the lithographic process. In traditional stone lithography, the image is drawn directly onto a carefully prepared limestone surface. For colour lithographs, a separate stone is used for each colour, which is then printed layer by layer. The process requires exceptional skill and precision but rewards the viewer with remarkable colour depth, subtle tonal transitions, and a vibrant surface quality rarely matched by modern printing techniques. This craftsmanship is one of the reasons why original lithographic travel posters remain so highly valued by collectors today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe poster carries the reference “696\/P\/8\/52”, dating this edition to 1952. It represents a period when Air France collaborated with some of France’s finest artists and printers to create advertisements that are now regarded as works of art in their own right. The combination of Jacques Auriac’s distinctive style, the traditional lithographic printing process, and the timeless depiction of the Côte d’Azur makes this poster a particularly appealing collector’s piece from the golden age of travel advertising.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eCondition\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCondition 6\/10. The poster retains strong colours and excellent decorative appeal but unfortunately shows several tears and areas of paper loss. These include a small hole on the right-hand side of the image, additional tears, fold marks, age-related patina, and light discolouration along the edges. While the imperfections are visible upon closer inspection, the poster still presents beautifully and retains its charm as an original Air France lithograph from 1952. Size: 31 × 49.8 cm.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"PlakatKunst","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53425309942107,"sku":"498","price":933.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0631\/6634\/9482\/files\/cote-d-azur-lithography.jpg?v=1782205497","url":"https:\/\/plakatkunst.com\/products\/cote-dazur-air-france","provider":"PlakatKunst","version":"1.0","type":"link"}