Description:
In this poster, Mercury the god of commerce wears a winged helmet with biplanes attached to his feet. He is seen here as the messenger of airmail. The caption "the dream of yesterday, the reality of today..." refers to the innovation of fast mail service via airplanes.
George Villa, the illustrator and political cartoonist created many aviation illustrations during his productive career.
Villa was the son of a general. Villa studied art under Jules Lefebvre at the l’Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Villa also studied under Tony Robert-Fleury at L’Acadmie Julian. In school Villa was exposed to a number of French artists, humorists, and painters. After debuting as a periodical illustrator, Villa turned to prints and lithography. Villa’s favorite subjects to illustrate were aviation and fencing.
Villa’s aviation illustrations are featured in many editions of the French aviation magazine, l’Aerophile.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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