Hygiene Du Guerre... [Wartime Health...]

French First World War poster issued as one of a series commissioned from Victor Prouve by the Department of Public Instruction in 1917. It features an image in the top half of a mother bringing a meal to the table for her three children and an elderly woman. The viewer is looking into their dining room. Directly beneath is the title and message printed in dark blue ink. The text is decorated with a garland of plants around the bottom giving the poster an Art Nouveau feel. The viewer is urged to eat less bread, potatoes and sugar and to drink water instead of alcoholic drinks, in order to improve 'war hygiene'. It is stated that people would be healthier if they eat and drank less. Victor Emile Prouvé (1858-1943) was a French designer and painter. Born into a community of embroidery designers, Prouvé entered the Nancy Design School and then the Paris Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Cabanel’s studio. Although he resided in Paris until 1902, he was always active in the artistic community in Nancy, and he became the second president of the Ecole de Nancy after the death of Emile Gallé in 1904. Primarily a portrait and landscape painter, he was also a sculptor, engraver, metal and leather worker, provided embroidery and jewelry designs, and collaborated with numerous artists and industrials. He also produced designs for menus, programs, vignettes, posters, and book covers. From 1919 to 1940, Victor Prouvé was the director of the Nancy Ecole des Beaux-Arts.