£245.00

George LEONNEC designed his last poster, for “Naja” cigarettes in 1939. Naja is Egyptian for cobra. The print was produced by Ozone et Co Caen – Paris which denotes that it is from the 1960s.
The print has the artist monogram ‘LG1939’.
SEITA stands for Société d’exploitation industrielle des tabacs et allumettes which was the French state owned tobacco company which also sold Gauloises and Gitanes both created in 1910.

Georges LEONNEC (French 1881 – 1940)
Georges Paul Albert LEONNEC, is a French illustrator known in particular for his funny illustrations in “Le Sourire” or “La Vie parisienne”. The son of cartoonist Paul LEONNEC and brother of writer-director Félix LEONNEC and Jannik LEONNEC, artist. From the age of 12-13, he began to work with his father on caricatures for Parisian newspapers. Expelled from the Lycée de Brest because of a caricature of a teacher, he continued his studies in Paris.
In 1901 his first “professional” drawings were published in the review “Jean qui rit”. In 1902 he published in “La Vie pour rire” and designed various works for periodicals such as “Le Rire”, “Le Sourire” and “L’Assiette aueurre” as well as advertisements for the Byrrh firm, the Dufayel department stores and those “À l’Innovation” by Brussels. From 1900 to 1915 George LEONNEC led a life of “artist” which he shared with Élisa P. L’HOUEREUX, his first wife, from whom he was divorced in 1915.
During the war he boosted the morale of the troops with his frivolous and humorous drawings which depict an archetype of naughty Parisian who appears on the cover of different popular magazines.
After the war he began to work as an illustrator for “La Vie parisienne”. At the same time, he produced advertisements for companies such as Renault and Daimler. In 1916, he met Hortense LE RETIF, whom he married in 1923. She became the model for “La Parisienne”. He produced sets for the Folies Bergère and the Casino de Paris.                                                    Dimensions  Height 67cm,  Width 47cm and Depth 2cm