Jean Carlu
Jean Carlu (1900–1997) was a French graphic designer who specialised in posters. He was a member of a family of architects; his brother Jacques Carlu for example designed the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. He made posters during World War II to promote an increase in American production.
Also recorded as Jean Georges Léon Carlu · Jean Georges Leon Carlu
Jean Carlu
Alfred T. Palmer · Public domain
- Name
- Jean Carlu
- Born
- 1900
- Birthplace
- Bonnières-sur-Seine
- Died
- 22 April 1997
- Place of death
- Nogent-sur-Marne
- Nationality
- France
- Occupation
- artist · designer
- Languages
- French
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q573180 · wikipedia · Jean Carlu
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The documentary record
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Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Getty Union List of Artist Names
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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Jean Carlu • Born — 1900 • Birthplace — Bonnières-sur-Seine • Died — 22 April 1997 • Place of death — Nogent-sur-Marne
Documentary record
Jean Carlu appears in the authority records of the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Getty Union List of Artist Names as an architect, graphic artist, painter and poster artist (3 May 1900 – 22 April 1997). The birth of Jean Carlu is recorded on 3 May 1900, and the death on 22 April 1997 in Nogent-sur-Marne (Val-de-Marne).
Biography
Biography
Jean Carlu started his career as a professional poster-designer in 1919, after a competition by a producer of dental aids (Glycodont) in 1918. From 1919 until 1921 he served as an illustrator, after which he worked at an agency that designed advertisements. In that period he designed his first poster in art deco style (for The Kid by Charlie Chaplin). He was attracted by cubism and by the works of Juan Gris and Albert Gleizes. He was one of the first who realised that to fix a trademark in the minds of consumers a process needs to be gone through in which schematic forms and expressive colours are applied. These are the characteristics that give his posters and other works their distinguishable quality. • Illustration — 1942 patriotic war poster by Jean Carlu for the U.S. Government The fame of Carlu rests mainly on two posters: for Monsavon and for the Théâtre Pigalle. He also designed a pioneering label for the 1924 vintage of Château Mouton-Rothschild. Carlu also designed posters for the Container Corporation of America, Pan American Airways, and Air France.
Documentary record
Jean Carlu was born in Bonnières-sur-Seine, according to the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Getty Union List of Artist Names. The Bibliothèque nationale de France records the fuller form Bonnières-sur-Seine (Yvelines).
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1900
Jean Carlu born at Bonnières-sur-Seine.
1997
Jean Carlu died at Nogent-sur-Marne.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Bonnières-sur-Seine.
Birth place
Nogent-sur-Marne.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q573180: Jean Carlu
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Jean Carlu”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Jean Carlu, revision 1280760831 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
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References
Citations
References
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authority record
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
The authorities additionally record the headings Jean Georges Léon Carlu and Jean Georges Leon Carlu. His recorded language was French. Other recorded relations include Anne Carlu.
Identity and origins
Recognition and collections
Work by Jean Carlu is
Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Modern Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum and Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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