Villemot is one of those artists we could happily keep buying. A shoe, a bottle, a figure and a few blocks of colour should not give somebody this much room to experiment, but somehow they did.
Bernard Villemot became one of the great names of post-war French advertising. His work for Bally, Orangina, Perrier and other clients is instantly recognisable without being repetitive. He could reduce a body to a curve or turn a product into part of the composition, then leave just enough empty space to make the whole thing work.
We particularly like the Bally posters. Seen together, they show why collecting by artist can be so enjoyable: the subject stays broadly consistent while Villemot keeps finding completely different solutions. Some are elegant, some funny, some almost abstract.
His posters also happen to work exceptionally well in contemporary interiors, which probably explains part of their continued appeal. That is not why they matter, but it certainly does not hurt.
There are originals from different periods and campaigns as well as later printings of popular imagery, so the physical poster still needs to be identified properly. Our live Villemot collection is a good place to see how varied his output actually was.
What to Look For When Collecting Villemot
His most popular Bally, Orangina and Perrier imagery has been reprinted over the years, so treat the campaign, period and printing as separate questions from the image itself before assuming you have an original.
Original Posters by Bernard Villemot
A live look at Bernard Villemot posters currently in the Printed Originals collection.
