Olympic Games/ Summer, 1934-1988-1992/ Original poster: "Bad - Lot 82

Olympic Games/ Summer, 1934-1988-1992/ Original poster: "Badminton, A True Sport". On this fabulous lithograph signed by the great Maurice Lauro (1878-1934) in the late 1920s, the battle for Badminton's recognition is intense. At the time, Badminton enthusiasts were cunningly and artistically trying to fill the double gap left and opened by lawn tennis. Indeed, lawn-tennis disappeared from the Olympic program after the Paris Games, and this self-proclaimed "sporting" creation was an attempt to seize power - bad could well take over, couldn't it? The problem was that, in 1927, the Musketeers filled the gap by conquering and defending the Davis Cup. The opportunity for succession became less obvious, and the two disciplines remained in the Olympic shadows until the 1980s. Tennis demonstrated in 1984, and badminton in 1988, at home in Seoul. Neither would pass up the opportunity. With this iconic work, Lauro is the keystone of this long adventure for recognition, which had already borne fruit in 1934, the year of the artist's death, with the emergence of an International Federation for the discipline! This graphic construction is so accurate that we can reasonably assume that the artist must have been a practitioner, and that this cry from the heart: "Badminton is a real sport", was indeed his, and certainly not the fruit of chance or a commission, he could not have gone so far and "played" so accurately. In short, if badminton has been able to survive, develop and spread throughout the world, with now a staggering 400 million shuttlecock enthusiasts, it's because of its beauty and sporting dimension, of which Lauro is the dazzling interpreter here. As you know, this commando operation culminated in 1988 in Seoul, where the discipline is king, as it is throughout Asia. Only as a demonstration, it passed through the Olympic gates in Barcelona in 1992. Since then, it has not become indispensable, but essential to the Olympic program. And while Asia remains the driving force, Europe, with Spain and Denmark, is not giving its tongue to the dragon, as France's discreet but talented representative at the 1996 Games, Etienne Thobois, will tell us. All the more so as the French are now also flying aces, and have become at least as competitive as their tennis cousins. Please smile, Mr. Lauro, and for real...Lithograph, canvas, 64x44. Exceptionally fresh. Maurice Lauro (1878-1934) Badminton" poster Size: 64 x 44 cm Restoration. In this lithograph, the artist has managed to capture the lively soul of a sport that sometimes borders on dance. He had started out as a press cartoonist, making a name for himself before the Great War in "Le Rire", as well as "Le Journal", "Le Pêle-Mêle" and "l'Almanach Vermot" (1906-1919), his longest collaboration. Then came the Roaring Twenties, and his transition to fashion and posters was a success. His posters for Trouville, La Baule and Nice (Palais de la Méditerranée) were born, as was his work for Champigneules beer and Automoto bicycles. He died in 1934, the year the International Badminton Federation was founded. One specialist speculates that this 1925 image was intended for Dieppe, one of the sport's first strongholds from 1908. Badminton has been an Olympic sport since 1992.