René Gruau (1909-2004)

René Gruau (1909-2004)
Elegant at the Opera
Oil on canvas signed lower right
Collection of Roger Faré
36.22 x 28.35 inch
René Gruau was a fashion designer, illustrator and poster artist. When his parents separated, he had to find work
to earn his living. He gave up on becoming an architect and started his career on fashion illustrator in 1924. In
1926, his meeting with the editor of the Milanese Lidel magazine appeared to be a key and he obtained many
orders for this magazine.
Arround the 1930's, he settled in Paris with his mother, where he started to be known and he worked for the
magazines Marianne, L'album du Figaro, Femina, Marie-Claire and L'Officiel de la Couture. American and
English magazines also ordered him some drawings.
If René Gruau dedicated himself to fashion drawing for many years, he turned towards publicity from 1947, urged
on by the creations of his friends Christian Dior and Jacques Fath. He worked with luxury Parisian companies, in
the area of haute couture, fashion accessories, lingerie, perfumes and also cosmetics. At this time, he realised one
of his first advertising drawing for the fragrance Miss Dior from Christian Dior.
In 1949, René Gruau created the first poster for Rouge Baiser - Red Kiss, the famous lipstick developped by Paul
Baudecroux in 1927. Then he offered a variety of features on this theme and realised many advertisings, of whom
the Palais Galliera (Musuem of fashion in Paris) has an original one. In his drawings, he always alluded to refined
woman, as elegant as sensual.
From 1956 to 1985, he realised posters for the Lido, and in 1961 he made the costumes and the set for La Belle de
Paris, comic opera staged at the Opera Comique in Paris.
Between 1961 and 1970, he dedicated his art to publicity and the compagnies Imperméables Blizzand, Eminence,
Pancaldi, Bemberg worked with him. He also realised posters for Le Moulin Rouge and les Ballets de Roland Petit.
Galerie Ary Jan
38 rue de Penthièvre | 75008 Paris
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Gruau continued to make fashion drawing and worked with Elle, Madame Figaro, L'Officiel de la Couture and
Vogue.
In our painting, Gruau represented an elegant woman in the pure spirit of the woman in his art, leaned on the
guardrail of the balcony at the Opera. The eye is immediately attracted by the curve of the red balcony and the red
lips of the elegant. We can also note the strong presence of the gloves, that is not an accident, because this art work
was a part of the collection of the famous glove-maker Roger Faré, known to make the most beautiful gloves of the
world, regarding to the publicity of the 1950's.
Bibliography
" René Gruau pour Christian Dior, Dessins publicitaires ", catalogue d'exposition - Musée des Beaux-Arts
d'Orléans, 19 octobre - 31 décembre 1990.
" Gruau, Mode et Publicité ", Exposition au Musée de la Mode et du Costume, Palais Galliera, 14 juin - 24
septembre 1989.
" René Gruau ", Ed. Herscher, 1986.
Galerie Ary Jan
38 rue de Penthièvre | 75008 Paris
Tel : +33 (0)1 42 61 42 10 | Mobile : +33 (0)6 07 88 75 84
[email protected] | www.galeriearyjan.com