Air France, Guy Georget Eiffel Tower In-Flight Menu Art 1959

This vibrant illustration of Paris was created by the highly regarded French artist and graphic designer Guy Georget (1911-1992) for Air France. It shows the Eiffel tower, Paris’s most famous landmark, named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. The other Parisian landmarks depicted are the Arc de Triomphe, Hôtel des Invalides, Palais Garnier, La Colonne Vendôme and La Madeleine. Georget’s influences were said to have been Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque who revolutionized early 20th century art by co-founding the Cubism movement between 1907 and 1914. Breaking from traditional artistic perspective, Cubism portrayed subjects or objects in geometric forms and muted colors, presenting them from multiple viewpoints to convey greater context and motion. Some of Georget’s commercial work was produced in understated and muted tones but his most popular works were colorful creations like this fun and light-hearted invitation to fly to Paris and visit the City of Light. Georget was commissioned by Air France when commercial air travel was still in its infancy and was further commissioned to create travel posters for Air France destinations worldwide. These original travel posters remain highly collectable today. He also designed railway posters to advertise ‘sleeping car service’, posters for the Philips Electric Co and won the contract to design a stylish logo for the French Postal Service (‘La Poste’). Not much is known about this talented man, perhaps because he was seen primarily as a commercial illustrator and an ‘ad man.’ However, this brilliant artist also painted in oil and watercolor. This image of Paris was part of a package of information for passengers aboard Air France first-time in 1959 and included the ‘tarif de bord.’ Passengers could buy alcoholic drinks and cigarettes. And, since this was for a French airline, passengers could also buy Christian Dior silk stockings, Hermes scarves and scents from some of the great French perfume houses including Balmain and Rochas. Gallery quality Giclée print on natural white, matte, 100% cotton rag, acid and lignin free archival paper using Epson Ultrachrome HD archival inks. Custom printed with border for matting and framing. Each order includes a print of the interior menu. All printed in USA.