JEAN CARLU

1900–1997

Jean Carlu was a French graphic designer who specialized in posters. In the early
1920s he worked for an agency that created advertising campaigns. It was during
these years that he adopted the Art Deco style for his poster designs. His fame
rests mainly on two posters: one for Monsavon, a soap company, and another for
the Théâtre Pigalle. He also designed a label for the 1924 vintage of Château
Mouton-Rothschild (top). During World War II, the U.S. government hired
Carlu, who had moved to the U.S., to create ads that would encourage
Americans to work hard and increase production as a form of patriotism.