COVER N. 694 - FRANCE

Postmark: 1926 Paul Bocuse 2018 Premier Jour 69 06.02.2026

Posted on ?;  Received on the 10th March 2026

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Art Déco... quoi dire? .. J'adore!

Un grand merci, Eric!

Indeed I love it.

Modernism, in its many forms of expression and supports, has got to be one of the most interesting periods in the history of all the arts. Within the confines of the early expressionism of Van Gogh masterpieces and the clean cut lines of Oscar Niemeyer's architecture, a world of immensely diverse esthetical experimentation continuously swirls, ejecting as if by centrifugal force, a truly prolific shower of beauty that encompasses all the earth continents.

Art Deco is one of modernism’s multi expressions, mostly associated with the inter-wars period, the fabled roaring 20's, which would impact the visual arts, design and architecture alike.

On a very personal basis, I (whose appreciation for the arts is mostly based on personal fruition and self derived conjectures, rather than on education and study)  think one could look at Art Déco almost as a consequential transition from Art Noveau, although in the end, both manifestations of art would strongly diverge in character and aspect. 

In fact, for some reason I cannot express, the evolution of one seems, to me, to lead on to the other, as if pushing the natural flowing and yet sometimes extremely complex surfaces of the former to their inherent limits would make them morph into the angular and geometric shapes of the latter.

Of course the beautiful feminine images of Mucha are quite different from the equally outstanding images of Tamara de Lempika, or even those of our own Almada Negreiros wherefrom cubism and futurism perspire, but art is just that: evolution, revolution, transgression.... and yet, always, a window into the past and a door into the future.

In the light of this simple fact it is of course hard to establish a founding moment for a given artistic movement, but art historians have established the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels moderns, held in Paris in 1925, as the birth of Art Déco.

Celebrating the centenary of this important occurrence in the history of art, and its evocation through a celebratory exhibition held at the Musée des Artes Decoratives in Paris, La Poste issued on 20OCT2025 the very beautiful 1,39 € stamp on the cover.

The stamp is the result of a partnership between la Poste, the Musée and the École Nationale des Arts Decoratifs, who entrusted  Lisa Derocle Ho-Leong,  one of its graduates, with the task of conceiving the stamp, which presumably reflects the artist's interpretation of items  from the museum collection in the stamps illustration.

Postage for the cover was completed with another quite interesting stamp: a 2028-2024 surcharged “Lettre Verte” Marianne, of the “Marianne L'engagée”series, issued in 2024.

The stamps are cancelled with a First Day Postmark issued for the recent stamp honouring Paul Bocuse, one of the seminal names behind what come to be known as Nouvelle Cuisine. Bocuse, (1926-2018). Being a distinguished Lyonnais it is only natural that La Poste chose to also honour him with a postmark issued on his city, which was a also the  place from where the cover was sent.

This and the fact that the conceptual and esthetical complexities of  Art Déco go perfectly hand in hand with Haute Cuisine,  brings the cover full circle and I am very happy to have in my collection.