Normandie 1935

Cassandre made this powerful poster, ‘Normandie,’ sometime in the 1930s, probably with lithographic inks on paper. It’s hard not to be swept away by the sheer scale of that ship's prow. The looming grey form occupies almost the entire frame. Can you imagine Cassandre, wrestling with how to convey this hugeness? It makes me think about what it must have felt like, painting something so massive, so imposing. The design is so slick and streamlined, it's as if he's building an object, not just depicting one! But it's not just about size; it's about the symbolic promise of travel, of crossing vast distances. In a way, Cassandre is showing how he’s part of a bigger conversation about speed and travel. From the Futurists to Art Deco, everyone's trying to capture this sense of forward motion. And here, Cassandre does it brilliantly. It’s a graphic gesture connecting past, present and future, a perfect kind of communication.