Fernand Mourlot
Encyclopedia
Fernand Mourlot son of Jules Mourlot, was the director of Mourlot Studios
and founder of Editions Mourlot.
was born on 5 April 1895 in Paris, France. He was the sixth of nine children of Jules Mourlot and Clemence Gadras. In 1911, at the age of 16, he was admitted as a student to the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs
where he studied drawing. After his studies he joined his father and older brothers in the family business, the "Imprimerie J. Mourlot". In 1914, Jules Mourlot, through the sale of Russian bonds, would begin expanding the studios, eventually opening a second location on rue St. Maur and purchasing Imprimerie Bataille on rue de Chabrol.
That year, the three eldest Mourlot brothers were also drafted into the French Army
and sent to the front. Paul, the oldest brother, would be killed shortly after the start of the war. Georges and Fernand would remain in the army through 1918 and would both participate in many battles including the Battle of Verdun
. While at the front, they would learn in 1917 of the death of their mother Clemence.
Upon their return, they rejoined their father in the business. Georges, the eldest, would head the operations of the studios, while Fernand would concentrate on the artistic side and business development. At the death of their father in 1921, the name of the studios was changed to "Mourlot Freres" (Mourlot Brothers), with Georges and Fernand heading the company, while the other siblings became minority holders in the business.
to promote an exhibition of French Modern Art in Copenhagen
, Denmark. A few years later, through the friendship he had developed with the writer Georges Duhamel
, himself a former veteran of World War I, Fernand Mourlot met the painter Maurice de Vlaminck
. In 1926 the three men worked closely on the production of what became the first of many illustrated books printed by Mourlot Studios
. 1930 marked the start of another important and long lasting cooperation: the one between Mourlot and the director of the French National Museums. That year, the Studios printed a poster for the hundred year anniversary of Romanticism and another poster to promote the retrospective of Delacroix
's work at the Musée du Louvre. These were followed in 1932 by a poster for an exhibition of Édouard Manet
's work at the Musée de l'Orangerie
, and in 1934, a poster of Honoré Daumier
's work at the Bibliothèque Nationale.
By 1937, Mourlot Studios had become the largest printer of artistic posters and was often hired by French and foreign museums, such as the Tate Gallery
, to produce high quality posters for their upcoming exhibitions. That year, two more historically important posters for Pierre Bonnard
and Henri Matisse
would be created for the exhibition of the Art Independent at the Petit Palais
. They would lead to a crucial meeting between Mourlot and Matisse and would usher the next chapter in the history of the Mourlot Studios.
to create original graphic works of art. In previous decades they had been limited to having their work reproduced into prints by craftsmen. A few artists like Vuillard, Vlaminck and Utrillo had taken him up on the offer with successful results. But it was only through meeting Henri Matisse and subsequently, the publisher Teriade
, that other major artists truly became intrigued.
In the late 1930s, the studios printed several illustrations and covers for Teriade's artistic review Verve. Through this collaboration, Fernand Mourlot would develop friendships with many of the famous artists of the time such as Fernand Léger
and Georges Braque
. Unfortunately, all major projects were put on hold due to the events of World War II. During the German occupation, most of the artistic and commercial production of the studios slowed considerably. Fernand Mourlot spent most of his time with the fictitious administration of other printing studios (Imprimerie Union), owned by Jewish friends and colleagues, thus avoiding the forced transfer of their assets to the state, and to the production of forged identification papers.
Still, two notable events for Mourlot would take place during those years. The first was a collaboration with the gallery owner Louis carre that would bring works with Georges Rouault
and Raoul Dufy
; the other was an introduction by the writer Jean Paulhan
, to the artist Jean Dubuffet
and the first book publishing ventures by Fernand Mourlot in 1944, with the creation of "Les Murs", poems by Guillevic and "Matiere et Memoire" with a text by Francis Ponge
.
Mourlot Studios
Mourlot Studios was a commercial print shop founded in 1852 by the Mourlot family and located in Paris, France. It was also known as Imprimerie Mourlot, Mourlot Freres and Atelier Mourlot. Founded by Francois Mourlot, it started off producing wallpaper...
and founder of Editions Mourlot.
Early life and career
Fernand MourlotMourlot
The Mourlot family has been closely associated with the arts since 1852. The family ran Mourlot Studios, also known as Imprimerie Mourlot, Ateliers Mourlot and Mourlot Freres.-Family members:*Francois Mourlot , lithographic printer....
was born on 5 April 1895 in Paris, France. He was the sixth of nine children of Jules Mourlot and Clemence Gadras. In 1911, at the age of 16, he was admitted as a student to the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs
École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs
The École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs is a public university of art and design and is one of the most prestigious French grande école...
where he studied drawing. After his studies he joined his father and older brothers in the family business, the "Imprimerie J. Mourlot". In 1914, Jules Mourlot, through the sale of Russian bonds, would begin expanding the studios, eventually opening a second location on rue St. Maur and purchasing Imprimerie Bataille on rue de Chabrol.
That year, the three eldest Mourlot brothers were also drafted into the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
and sent to the front. Paul, the oldest brother, would be killed shortly after the start of the war. Georges and Fernand would remain in the army through 1918 and would both participate in many battles including the Battle of Verdun
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was one of the major battles during the First World War on the Western Front. It was fought between the German and French armies, from 21 February – 18 December 1916, on hilly terrain north of the city of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France...
. While at the front, they would learn in 1917 of the death of their mother Clemence.
Upon their return, they rejoined their father in the business. Georges, the eldest, would head the operations of the studios, while Fernand would concentrate on the artistic side and business development. At the death of their father in 1921, the name of the studios was changed to "Mourlot Freres" (Mourlot Brothers), with Georges and Fernand heading the company, while the other siblings became minority holders in the business.
Contribution to lithographic posters
In 1923, Mourlot won a contract to produce an original lithographic posterPoster
A poster is any piece of printed paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and informative. Posters may be...
to promote an exhibition of French Modern Art in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark. A few years later, through the friendship he had developed with the writer Georges Duhamel
Georges Duhamel
Georges Duhamel , was a French author, born in Paris. Duhamel trained as a doctor, and during World War I was attached to the French Army. In 1920, he published Confession de minuit , the first of a series featuring the anti-hero Salavin...
, himself a former veteran of World War I, Fernand Mourlot met the painter Maurice de Vlaminck
Maurice de Vlaminck
Maurice de Vlaminck was a French painter. Along with André Derain and Henri Matisse he is considered one of the principal figures in the Fauve movement, a group of modern artists who from 1904 to 1908 were united in their use of intense color.-Life:Maurice de Vlaminck was born in Paris to a family...
. In 1926 the three men worked closely on the production of what became the first of many illustrated books printed by Mourlot Studios
Mourlot Studios
Mourlot Studios was a commercial print shop founded in 1852 by the Mourlot family and located in Paris, France. It was also known as Imprimerie Mourlot, Mourlot Freres and Atelier Mourlot. Founded by Francois Mourlot, it started off producing wallpaper...
. 1930 marked the start of another important and long lasting cooperation: the one between Mourlot and the director of the French National Museums. That year, the Studios printed a poster for the hundred year anniversary of Romanticism and another poster to promote the retrospective of Delacroix
Eugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school...
's work at the Musée du Louvre. These were followed in 1932 by a poster for an exhibition of Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet was a French painter. One of the first 19th-century artists to approach modern-life subjects, he was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism....
's work at the Musée de l'Orangerie
Musée de l'Orangerie
The Musée de l'Orangerie is an art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings located on the Place de la Concorde in Paris. Though most famous for being the permanent home for eight Water Lilies murals by Claude Monet, the museum also contains works by Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse,...
, and in 1934, a poster of Honoré Daumier
Honoré Daumier
Honoré Daumier was a French printmaker, caricaturist, painter, and sculptor, whose many works offer commentary on social and political life in France in the 19th century....
's work at the Bibliothèque Nationale.
By 1937, Mourlot Studios had become the largest printer of artistic posters and was often hired by French and foreign museums, such as the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
, to produce high quality posters for their upcoming exhibitions. That year, two more historically important posters for Pierre Bonnard
Pierre Bonnard
Pierre Bonnard was a French painter and printmaker, as well as a founding member of Les Nabis.-Biography:...
and Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...
would be created for the exhibition of the Art Independent at the Petit Palais
Petit Palais
The Petit Palais is a museum in Paris, France. Built for the Universal Exhibition in 1900 to Charles Girault's designs, it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts ....
. They would lead to a crucial meeting between Mourlot and Matisse and would usher the next chapter in the history of the Mourlot Studios.
Original limited fine art prints
For some time, Fernand Mourlot had been inviting artists to come and work on location at the Mourlot StudiosMourlot Studios
Mourlot Studios was a commercial print shop founded in 1852 by the Mourlot family and located in Paris, France. It was also known as Imprimerie Mourlot, Mourlot Freres and Atelier Mourlot. Founded by Francois Mourlot, it started off producing wallpaper...
to create original graphic works of art. In previous decades they had been limited to having their work reproduced into prints by craftsmen. A few artists like Vuillard, Vlaminck and Utrillo had taken him up on the offer with successful results. But it was only through meeting Henri Matisse and subsequently, the publisher Teriade
Tériade
Tériade was a native of Mytilene who went to Paris in 1915 at the age of eighteen to study law, but who instead became an art critic, patron, and, most significantly, a publisher....
, that other major artists truly became intrigued.
In the late 1930s, the studios printed several illustrations and covers for Teriade's artistic review Verve. Through this collaboration, Fernand Mourlot would develop friendships with many of the famous artists of the time such as Fernand Léger
Fernand Léger
Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of Cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style...
and Georges Braque
Georges Braque
Georges Braque[p] was a major 20th century French painter and sculptor who, along with Pablo Picasso, developed the art style known as Cubism.-Early Life:...
. Unfortunately, all major projects were put on hold due to the events of World War II. During the German occupation, most of the artistic and commercial production of the studios slowed considerably. Fernand Mourlot spent most of his time with the fictitious administration of other printing studios (Imprimerie Union), owned by Jewish friends and colleagues, thus avoiding the forced transfer of their assets to the state, and to the production of forged identification papers.
Still, two notable events for Mourlot would take place during those years. The first was a collaboration with the gallery owner Louis carre that would bring works with Georges Rouault
Georges Rouault
Georges Henri Rouault[p] was a French Fauvist and Expressionist painter, and printmaker in lithography and etching.-Childhood and education:Rouault was born in Paris into a poor family...
and Raoul Dufy
Raoul Dufy
Raoul Dufy[p] was a French Fauvist painter. He developed a colorful, decorative style that became fashionable for designs of ceramics and textiles, as well as decorative schemes for public buildings. He is noted for scenes of open-air social events...
; the other was an introduction by the writer Jean Paulhan
Jean Paulhan
Jean Paulhan was a French writer, literary critic and publisher, director of the literary magazine Nouvelle Revue Française from 1925 to 1940 and from 1946 to 1968. He was a member of the Académie Française...
, to the artist Jean Dubuffet
Jean Dubuffet
Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet was a French painter and sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a more authentic and humanistic approach to image-making.-Life and work:Dubuffet was...
and the first book publishing ventures by Fernand Mourlot in 1944, with the creation of "Les Murs", poems by Guillevic and "Matiere et Memoire" with a text by Francis Ponge
Francis Ponge
Francis Jean Gaston Alfred Ponge was a French essayist and poet. In many ways, he combined the two — essay and poem — into a single art form.-Life:...
.