Ernest 1936

Cassandre made this poster, Ernest, sometime in the 30s, probably with gouache and stencils, a technique perfect for commercial art. Everything is so flat and designed; it's like he's thinking through the printing process right from the start. The muted colors and hard edges give it this cool, detached feel, almost robotic. I keep getting drawn to how these two faces are constructed, almost like a weird puzzle, sharing a hat and eyes. The brown against pale cream colors are smooth and clean, and the geometry, the straight lines, and perfect curves are like he's editing the world down to its bare bones. That row of lines near the bottom feels so deliberate. It has the vibe of someone like Leger, who was also into the idea of a kind of mechanized humanism, but with way more humor. To me, anyway. What do you think?