Winter Pears — Fontan

A whimsical autumn cover in which a nymph harvests winter pears from a heavily-laden bough — emblem of the magazine's Art Deco prime.

Original French title: Poires d'Hiver se Cueillent en Octobre. Drawn by Léo Fontan. Published in La Vie Parisienne, N° 42. Paris, 1922.

Léo Fontan was one of the most decorative illustrators of La Vie Parisienne in the 1920s, his stylised nymphs and fauns turning the agricultural calendar into a procession of erotic allegories. The botanical caprice of this cover is characteristic of the magazine's mature Art Deco look, where a seasonal pretext cloaks the playful nude.

Chromolithograph. Sheet size approximately 37.9 × 28.9 cm. Good.