Lot 90: POSTER: ALEXEY BRODOVITCH (1898-1971) BIÈRES Vve

ALEXEY BRODOVITCH (1898-1971) BIÈRES Vve J. PETIT & FILS. 1921.
39x28 1/2 inches. Grau, Nerfi & Cie., Lille.
Condition A-: repaired tears in margins; creases in image.
Brodovitch was born in Russia and emigrated to Paris in 1920. Very little biographical information exists about his early years in Paris, and until now, Brodovitch''s earliest known graphic work from the period was his 1924 poster for the Bal Banal (see Swann Modernist Poster auction # 1859, lot 6). This beer poster proves that as early as 1921 he was already working as a graphic designer and getting commissions. Like early works by other great artists, such as A.M. Cassandre and Charles Loupot, this image is atypical of Brodovitch''s mature style, as he had not yet honed his inimitable Art Deco stylization. The youthful design is fairly straightforward, the most interesting graphic aspect being the five faces caricatured at the top. As the earliest of Brodovitch''s posters to have surfaced, this previously unrecorded image is an important historical discovery.