French fashion and advertising painter, “Raymond” aka Pierre-Laurent Brenot was born on 8th July 1913 and often referred to as the “Father of the French pin-up”. In 1928, he entered the Ecole Estienne (School of the Book), which he attended for three years and four years later he was working and studying with the French designer Fernand Hertenberger.  He moved on and worked for fashion houses such as that of  Mr. Chatard, within the store “Fashionable” based on the Boulevard Montmartre. During the 1940s Brenot drew for some of the greatest French fashion designers and milliners, such as:

• Cristóbal Balenciaga,
• Christian Dior,
• Jacques Fath,
• Jeanne Lafaurie,
• Jeanne-Marie Lanvin
• Charles Montaigne
• Nina Ricci,
• Marcel Rochas

From 1944 onwards, Brenot began to indulge in illustrations and poster art. But this career was short-lived as the 1960s saw a rise in photographic advertisements, putting the illustrative ads to bed.  Brenot lived until the age of 84, where he died at his estate in Loches, on 8th May, 1998.

The image above was created for Lou label in 1957.

Website | About | Facebook | Twitter

“Is It Art?”