A.M. Cassandre was born in 1901 in Ukraine. His parents were French, and this resulted in him settling in Paris in around 1915 (Meggs and Purvis, 56 ). Ecole des Beaux-Arts was the studio where he studied while in Paris. Cassandre pursued varied career paths, but he was well recognized as a stage designer, poster artist, painter and graphic designer.

As early as 1921, Cassandre was driven to make a living, and as a result, he designed several posters. His initial designs were done using the caricatural style. Cassandre moved to his own studio in 1922 and started to derive his inspiration from surrealism and cubism (Harte). Cassandre used cubism more while creating visual languages. The first poster that he designed using his unique and innovative style was regarded as “AU Bucheron”. This poster was a representation of a woodcutter that was undertaking his duties using an axe. The poster was reproduced and could be viewed in different places in Paris where it was placed. Many people around Paris were impressed by this piece of work given the artistic skills that were on display, and this helped in increasing Cassandre’s fame. The poster secured a first place position in the “Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs” in the year that followed (Cassandre-france.com). This aspect helped Cassandre gain more success in his design endeavors given the publicity.

The successful reputation of the designer continued as he developed other posters such as “Dubo Dubon Dubonnet” and “Etoile du Nord”. Given the designs that A.M. Cassandre produced, some people viewed his work as a bridging point between commercial and fine art. His airbrushing techniques were responsible for the development of artworks that were well accepted in both Europe and the United States. He also used the Art Deco style at some point, and this helped in embracing the futuristic inspiration that was clearly visible in “Nord Express,” which was designed in 1927(Harte).

The success that Cassandre actualized pushed him in doing more things such as putting up his own advertising agency. The agency paid more attention to clients that were looking to put their enterprises out there. The inventive graphic solutions that his posters brought out made them a preference to many clients compared to the other designers that were offering similar services. Cassandre’s popularity emanating from his works drove him into getting painting projects from theaters. At some point, he also accepted the position of a teacher at different art institutions.

The commencement of the Second World War changed the fortunes for Cassandre since he was drafted into the French Army. As the war concluded, his business had already been demolished. He tried several practices such as designing costumes for the theater and stage sets in an attempt to survive the unfortunate aftermath. A.M. Cassandre returned to painting briefly, but his final life was quite difficult. He suffered from severe depression at this point. Some of the paintings that he embarked on at this point were never finished. He ended up committing suicide in 1968(Cassandre-france.com). Despite this, he was a great inspiration to many artists and designers.

“AU Bucheron”

 “Nord Express”

Works Cited

Cassandre-france.com. “Cassandre – Official Web Site Of AM.Cassandre By Roland Mouron Estate Of AM.Cassandre”. Cassandre-France.Com, 2017, http://www.cassandre-france.com/amcassandre/biographical-note.html.

Harte, Lynsey. “Art Deco Designer—A. M. Cassandre”. Owlcation, 2017, https://owlcation.com/humanities/Art-Deco-Designer-A-M-Cassandre.

Meggs, Philip B, and Alston W Purvis. Meggs’ History Of Graphic Design. 6th ed., John Wiley & Sons, 2016,.

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