René Lelong - The Digestive

René LELONG Arrou (Eur-et-Loir), 1871 – Lavradin (Loi-et-Cher), 1933 Oil on panel Circa 1920 47 x 32 cm (54 x 39 cm with the frame) Signed lower left "RLelong" René Lelong was a painter and illustrator during the Belle Epoque and the Roaring Twenties. He studied at the Académie Julian from 1879 to 1891. Awarded a 3rd class medal at the Salon des artistes français in 1895, he became a member in 1898. Lelong created advertising posters and illustrated numerous books and texts, notably in the Nelson collection or the magazines Femina, Je sais tout, Lectures pour tous and L'Illustration. Our painting is a project made around 1920 for an advertising poster for Mulhouse liqueurs "Cusenier" ("The good Cusenier liqueurs are in the family of dessert accompaniments"!). Cusenier is a French brand of spirits, whose house was founded in 1868 in Ornans (Doubs) by Eugène Cusenier and which today belongs to the Pernod Ricard group. Lelong's art is always marked by lightness, charm and cheerfulness. Here the scene exudes the joy of living with its very fresh colors and its relaxed and smiling attitudes. A perfect scene to illustrate the pleasure of having a digestive with friends after a good meal!