The ’Normandie’ was the pride of French naval construction, so it is no wonder that it is the star of an exhibition on ocean liners at the Nantes Art Museum.
In the 1930s, ocean liners were the epitome of luxury travel and were outfitted in the decorative styles of their time. The Normandie reflected late art deco in its interior (above left the famous Normandie pitcher; above right a detail of the ’Taming of the Horses’ by Jean Dunand in the first class smoking room), and in the marketing materials of its owner (below left first class dining room; below right first class oval salon).
And that was not all – the magic of the ocean liners was captured in films, photographs and art. It is not every day the launch of an ocean liner is immortalised in an oil painting – but the Normandie was (by Jules Lefranc, below left). Of course, crossing the Atlantic had its les agreeable moments even in the best ships, and these moments were also captured – below right Jean-Émile Laboureur’s ‘Transatlantic Roll’.
The liners were an essential part of the exciting machine age, so arduously captured by many painters. Here are some examples – Marcel Gromaire’s ’Traveller on board’ (left), and Felix Del Marne’s ‘The Port’ (right).
Further painters inspired by ocean liners included Fernand Léger (a tugboat below left) and Raoul Dufy (the New York Harbour below right).
The glory days of the Normandie lasted only four years, from 1935 to 1939. In the early years of the war it was stripped of its interiors in preparation for troop carrying duty. Sadly, it caught fire and sank in the New York harbour in February 1942 – what a suitable end point for the exhibition.
The exhibition ’Paquebots – Une esthétique transatlantique 1913-1942’ is at the Musée d’arts de Nantes until 23 February 2025.
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