ALECHINSKY Pierre. Roland Garros 1988. Lithographic poster. - Lot 76

In this sale, we present the two posters chosen by the French Olympic Committee for the 1924 Paris Olympic Games.

Lots 163 and 164, these two posters take very different approaches.

In Jean Droit's poster, a group of bare-chested athletes take the Olympic oath with their right arms raised and their heads turned to the right, presumably towards the grandstand, which cannot be seen. At their feet are the arms of the city of Paris, with the tricolor flag in the background. Orsi's poster, meanwhile, shows a lone athlete in the middle of a javelin throw, in front of a globe and a Parisian landscape featuring the Eiffel Tower and the Sacré Coeur, which also had its cross removed just a century ago...

"The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially named the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were the seventh edition of the modern Olympic Games, and the first to be held under the name of the Summer Olympics (Paris, July 5-27), with the Winter Olympics taking place for the first time in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc.

Following the 1900 edition in Paris, Pierre de Coubertin decided to organize the Olympic Games in France for the second time. Indeed, the first edition had been plagued by problems, and the 1900 Games were seen by some as a mere international competition. With a view to staging better Games, he wanted to prove to the world that Paris and France were capable of welcoming athletes from all over the world to compete. After much discussion, Pierre de Coubertin obtained the IOC's satisfaction. It was during this same session that the 1924 Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc were decided."

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Laurence DANTEC

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