Cote d'AzurBy Jean-Gabriel Domergue

Under the festive fireworks of lime green and lemon yellow palm fronds, the elegant fun of the couture-conscious “Cote d’Azur” vacationers beckons from this nostalgic travel poster by French Art Deco painter Jean-Gabriel Domergue (1889 – 1962). The self-proclaimed inventor of the pin-up, Domergue began as a landscape painter under the tutelage of renowned artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec before he discovered his calling in portraiture of flirtatiously posed nude and semi-nude women. Brigitte Bardot and Gina Lollobrigida were among the famous beauties who posed in his home studio.