- Title: Versailles
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Author: Rene Aubert
- Date: c.1930
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Condition: Very fine - laid to linen
- Inches: 24 5/8 x 39 1/2 [Paper]
- Centimeters: 62.54 x 100.33 [Paper]
- Product ID: 308417
A beautiful and scarce linen-backed French travel poster of Versailles printed in France for and by the French State Railways. Located 20 minutes from Paris, served by 500 electric trains each day.
This poster bears two logos, reading "Chemins de fer de l'État" (State Railways) which refers to the early state-owned French railway company, established in 1878. It was created to take over the operations of several failing private railway companies and later absorbed the Chemins de fer de l'Ouest. In 1938, it merged with other French railway companies to form the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français (SNCF).
Background on Creator
René Aubert (born Raymond Louis René Aubert) was a French painter, lithographer, and illustrator, born on October 6, 1894, in La Loupe (Eure-et-Loir), and died on June 4, 1977, in Versailles. He studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in Paris, where he was a pupil of Lucien Simon.
Aubert began his career as a courtroom sketch artist for the press, notably covering the Henri Désiré Landru trial in 1921, and later became known for his landscape paintings, particularly scenes from Meslay-le-Vidame, as well as still lifes and genre scenes. He exhibited at the Salon des artistes français from 1926 to 1942, earning several awards, including a gold medal in 1936 and a silver medal at the 1937 Exposition Universelle.
Aubert was also a drawing teacher in Versailles, eventually becoming director of the city’s art school from 1938 to 1966. His works are held in several public collections, including the Musée Lambinet in Versailles and the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Reims. He produced notable posters, such as those for Versailles and the French railways in the 1930s and illustrated numerous books. In 1980, a street in Versailles was named after him in recognition of his contributions.