◇ Racer on the Riviera

A brilliant red race car slices along the cliffside of the French Riviera, its streamlined form in thrilling contrast to the serene blues of sea and sky. Côte d’Azur is a vivid celebration of motion, light, and landscape elegantly rendered in the clean, stylized lines of Art Deco tradition. The image fuses precision and fantasy, with the driver captured mid-momentum, veering around the coast’s famously dramatic bends. This is a print that evokes summer heat, mechanical speed, and the allure of the Mediterranean coastline.

Description
The composition is tightly controlled and exhilarating. The contrast between the car’s bold red body and the cool, gradated blues of sea and sky immediately draws the viewer in. Fix-Masseau’s mastery lies in the subtle curve of the coastal road, the aerodynamic exaggeration of the vehicle’s form, and the sweeping motion lines that propel the image forward. The car doesn’t merely appear to move—it demands the viewer to feel the wind and thrill alongside it. Technically, the lithograph’s precise flat color blocks and shadow treatment underscore the sleek futurism typical of high-period Art Deco.

Notable Context
The poster is a late homage to the interwar travel advertising boom that helped define modern visual culture. The Côte d’Azur—once a quiet coastal region—had, by the mid-20th century, become a symbol of luxury and escapism, thanks in part to posters like this one. Artists such as Cassandre and Fix-Masseau elevated the travel poster to a sophisticated genre of visual persuasion. Fix-Masseau’s Côte d’Azur echoes the 1930s in both palette and perspective, blending nostalgia for early auto racing with the enduring seduction of Riviera tourism. The lithograph conjures a mythology where modernity and nature coexist in dazzling style.

About the Artist
Pierre Fix-Masseau was a leading French poster artist and industrial designer whose work bridged the transition from Art Nouveau to Art Deco. The son of sculptor Pierre Félix Fix-Masseau, he began his career under the influence of masters like Cassandre and quickly became a defining voice in modern French advertising. Known for his disciplined use of geometry, vibrant flat colors, and visual dynamism, Fix-Masseau created iconic posters for companies like Bugatti, SNCF, and Air France. His designs are marked by a rare ability to merge elegance with functionality—qualities that continue to influence graphic design today.