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Premium Maître Nicolas CONSTANTY

27 - Michel Gyarmathy (1881–1973) – Joséphine Baker, Folies Bergè…
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Estimate €1,000 - €1,500
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Description
Michel Gyarmathy (1881–1973) – Joséphine Baker, Folies Bergère. 1949. Printed by Bedos, Paris. 148.5 × 95.5 cm. Original poster, lithograph, mounted on canvas. Condition A–: traces of original creases, traces of two small tears, a few creases from handling. The designer of this poster was also the set designer for the show, produced by Paul Derval. Michel Gyarmathy, artistic director of the Folies Bergère, created this remarkable design based on a Harcourt photograph. As the leading expert Jack Rennert points out, this classic poster heralds Joséphine’s legendary return to the Folies Bergère (in the revue *Féeries et Folies*) following the end of the Second World War, in a France in the midst of reconstruction. In the biography *Joséphine: Le cœur affamé*, the authors Jean-Claude Baker and Chris Chase wrote of this period: ‘Joséphine wanted to give Paris a new Folies Bergère; there would still be naked girls, but Joséphine, the war heroine, would cover her body with thirty different costumes and embody numerous famous women from history. She would be Eve, then Empress Joséphine, and finally the ill-fated Mary, Queen of Scots’ (p. 285). This explains her more dignified demeanour on this poster, a far cry from her early appearances in Paul Colin’s posters.
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About the sale Shocking posters! Poster sale no. 18.
Auction location
Auction time 11/05/2026 at 4:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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