Raymond Tournon
French, 1870 - 1919
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Raymond Tournon dit le père, born in Gaillac on May 7, 1870 and died in Villefranche-sur-Mer on February 17, 1919, was a French painter, lithographer, illustrator and poster artist.
His family moved to Paris in 1877 and Raymond Tournon studied at the Lycée Arago. He entered the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris in the studio of Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889) and befriended the painter Grelat. As well as painting, he taught mathematics and drawing. He became a surveyor with the Paris land registry.
On December 12, 1894, he married the painter and portrait painter Éléonore Marche in Saint-Amboise [Doubtful information]. Their first child, Georges, was born on September 26, 1895. His birth was followed by that of Raymond (1901-1975), also a painter and theater and film set designer, and by that of Jean-François (1905-1986), fencer, Olympic bronze medalist and international referee.
Raymond Tournon led a career as a designer of advertising posters for automobiles, spas and the cinema. He also worked as a press illustrator, as the couple struggled to make a living from their artistic output. He produced advertisements for the Royal Opera House and frequently drew illustrations for the publisher Offenstadt. He collaborates with Raymond Bigot, E. Nicolson, Louis Tybalt, Harry Gonel and Louis Forton.
On medical advice, he moves to the South of France, settling with his family in Villefranche-sur-Mer. He prepares a major exhibition on the advice of Charles Cottet.
He exhibited at the Salon des artistes français in 1914.