COTE D'AZUR

Munetsugu Satomi, born in the Japanese city of Osaka, studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris under Cassandre and was one of the masters in the field of Japanese poster design. He was renowned for creating the Deco 'speeding' effect in his railway posters. This design is such an example - a racing steam train rushes diagonally through the picture frame, its nose accentuated by the echoing pointed shapes of the train's sharp shadow and the three birds in flight. Typical of the Art Deco style is the exaggerated perspective of the train appearing as though seen from a great height, yet viewed from the side angle. Here, Satomi also experiments with light effects as the flat black background of the piece is broken only by the sun-yellow spotlight representing the brighter climes of the Mediterranean that the train speeds towards. The poster exudes the contemporary thrill of train travel and the growing appreciation of tourism as a leisure activity in the fashionable Cote D'Azur.