Charles Martin

1884, Montpellier - 1934, Paris, France

Maid in Stockings and Garters Embraced by a Sailor

RARE, Original Signed Hand-Painted Stencil print (Pochoir) - 

Dated 1930

From the series of illustrations for Jean de La Fontaine's “Les Contes et Nouvelles en vers”, 1930


Artwork Description

This playful, mildly erotic Art Deco illustration depicts an affectionate embrace between a young woman with dark bobbed hair and a weathered, older man in traditional working-class or maritime attire (a kerchief cap, vest, and trousers).

The woman wears a short dress lifted to reveal her petticoats, stockings, and garters, while looking coyly toward the viewer as the man leans in close.

Martin utilizes delicate, fine-line ink drawing filled with soft, muted watercolor or pochoir color washes in slate blue, pale gray, and dusty rose, set against a warm paper ground.

Style & Movement

  • French Art Deco & Scène Galante: Combines the sleek, stylized line work of 1920s French Art Deco with the traditional French genre of "galante" or lighthearted erotic illustration.

  • Bibliofilia & Book Illustration: Reflects Charles Martin’s celebrated output for luxury high-society publications (such as La Gazette du Bon Ton) and limited-edition illustrated literature (Mascarades et Amusettes).

  • Linear Elegance & Satire: Uses caricatural, exaggerated facial features paired with refined, rhythmic contour lines.

Themes

  • Eroticism & Intimacy: A humorous, lighthearted exploration of courtship, affection, and seduction typical of 1920s Parisian graphic art.

  • Contrast of Archetypes: Juxtaposes the youth, delicacy, and modern fashion of the young woman against the rough, weathered appearance of her companion.

  • Seduction & Playfulness: The direct gaze of the woman toward the audience adds a self-aware, theatrical quality to the scene.

Artist Name: Charles Martin


Title: Maid in stockings and garters embraced by a man / The groper


Signature Description: Hand-signed lower right


Technique: Pochoir (hand-painted stencil print) on paper


Size: 24 x 19 cm / 9.45" x 7.48" inch


Frame: Unfarmed


Condition: Good condition

Artist's Biography:

Charles Martin (Montpellier, 1884 - Paris, 1934) was a French illustrator, graphic artist, posterist, fashion designer, and ballet and theater set and costume designer during Paris’s golden age of luxury fashion magazines and periodicals.
Renowned for his precise and elegant style he played a defining role in the Art Deco movement.
Inspired by Cubism, his oeuvre is distinguished by a precise and joyful line, using techniques such as etching and stencil. He illustrated magazines and luxury books, collaborating with renowned artists and writers

Born in Montpellier, he received his early artistic training at the local École des Beaux-Arts before moving to Paris to continue his studies at the Académie Julian and the École des Beaux-Arts.
There, under the tutelage of historical painter Fernand Cormon, he trained alongside a landmark circle of early 20th-century illustrators, including George Barbier, Pierre Brissaud, and Georges Lepape.

Charles Martin began his career in light magazines before collaborating with prestigious  French fashion journals such as Gazette du Bon Ton, Modes et Manieres d'Aujourd'hui, Journal Des Dames et Des Modes, and Vogue.

His illustrated books include the hat catalogue "Les Modes en 1912," the erotic "Mascarades et Amusettes" 1920, and "Sports et Divertissements" 1919 in a collaboration with composer Erik Satie, and Jean de La Fontaine’s “Contes et Nouvelles en vers” (Tales and Novellas in Verse), 1930.

His work demonstrates a technical mastery and refined sensitivity that made him a recognized draftsman of his time. He died in Paris in 1934.

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