Printer: Mourlot

Dimensions: 100 x 66 cm

Condition: Very good 

Frame: Charcoal 

Description: This original lithograph was produced in 1960 to promote the elegant resort town of Menton, which became a much loved favourite of Jean Cocteau and Ferdinand Bac. Designed by Constantin Térechkovitch and printed by the renowned Atelier Mourlot in Paris, it is a wonderful example of the golden age of French travel posters.

Born in Moscow and later settling in France, Térechkovitch became one of the most celebrated painters of post-war French leisure and society. Beaches, horse racing, gardens, fashion and Riviera life became recurring themes throughout his work, all painted with the vibrant colour and effortless elegance that made him instantly recognisable.

Rather than focusing on a particular landmark, this poster captures the atmosphere of Menton itself. Palm trees, sea, mountains and sunlit figures are brought together in a composition that celebrates the beauty and glamour of the Côte d’Azur. The female figure is characteristic of the graceful, fashionable subjects that appear throughout Térechkovitch’s paintings of the period.

Artist: Constantin (Kostia) Terechkovitch (1902-1978) was a Russian painter. He was born near Moscow and initially studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architechture in 1917 but had to flee the country during the Russian Revolution. He went to Paris and enrolled at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and moved into a Russian community in Montparnasse and met Mikhail Larionov and Soutine. He was influenced by Bonnard and associated with a group of artists incuding Roland Oudot, Maurice Brianchon, André Planson and Jules Cavaillès. As well as painting colourful landscapes, towns and portraits, he worked on the sets and costumes for a ballet in Monte-Carlo in 1933 where he met his wife. After the Second World War, his interests extended to sport and horses, owning his own racing yard. He died in Monaco in 1978.