Hervé Morvan, artist and poet of the “optique de la rue”

After the dark years of German occupation, a new generation of poster artists emerged in France. Although advertising was not yet a marketing tool, these authors proposed a new, original graphic language with innovative principles of commercial communication: very colourful, lively posters permeated by subtle humour, the “visual gags”. The streets are the galleries where to exhibit; the sign is the medium, and the viewer is the target to hit. Among this new generation, the emerging artists are Bernard Villemot, Raymond Savignac and Hervé Morvan. Between 1947 and 1951, the first two occupied the same studio, although their graphic language differed considerably. Morvan establishes himself after a long apprenticeship. Born in Brittany in 1917, Hervé moved with his family to Paris, where he attended the “Ecole des Arts Appliqués”, graduating in 1934 as a decorator painter of murals and stained glass. At first, he worked in film advertising (the giant billboards that advertised films) before producing, after 1942, his first posters. After the war, he worked for companies such as Perrier, Savora, and Panzani. Still, the commercial sign that made him known to the general public was that of 1948 for the underwear “Scandale”, presented at the Exhibition of the Fair of Lyon. His amusing style in advertising products through a drawn gag is quickly successful; from Gitanes tobacco to Grutli beer, from Primagaz to Geveor wine, from Bendix electrical appliances to Gévéor wine, and again Bally, Petit-Bateau, Mazda, up to Alsacienne and Banania cookies, Kwatta and Lanvin chocolate, etc. Morvan composes “street paintings” with bright colours and simple but highly effective drawings, representing an extraordinary repertoire of “visual gags”. For his posters, Morvan is inspired by children's light-hearted, playful, reassuring naivety; Morvan’s graphic repertoire is populated by friendly characters and smiling animals, such as Lanvin’s wolf who, instead of biting Little Red Riding Hood, happily bite into a chocolate bar!