Who drew the iconic Bally orange poster?
Bernard Villemot, a French graphic artist born in 1911.
How did Villemot get into drawing shoes for advertising campaigns?
In a way, he was born to draw. His father was a member of the bourgeoisie and a famous cartoonist. He went to L’Ecole Paul, which taught poster art, when he was 22. It was here that he developed his painting technique.
That makes sense, he wanted to be more of an artist than in advertising. When you look at that Bally poster, the product is the shoes and they look like an afterthought.
Very true. He did say, “I had but one model, one inspiration: Matisse.” And Matisse is hardly known for his paintings of shoes. He did earn the unofficial title “painter-laureate of modern commercial art”.
But did the poster and all the other Bally posters he did actually sell shoes for the luxury Swiss brand?
It must have. They kept using him.
Apart from Bally, what else did he work on?
He was prolific, designing posters for orange soft drink Orangina, Perrier mineral water and Air France, among many brands.
They’re certainly a lot of fun with the simplistic style and exuberant use of colour.
Don’t forget seminal and evocative of the ’50s through to the ’80s. The originals are collector’s items these days, going for a pretty penny. An Air France one from 1967 is currently going on 1st Dibs for just over $8000.
Wow. Where can I get a reproduction of Bernard Villemot’s Bally orange poster?
Shop an array of Villemot poster reproductions on websites such as Pop Motif, Etsy and Red Bubble.
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