JEAN-ADRIEN MERCIER (FRENCH 1899-1995)
Two Women in a Cemetery in Rabat, Morocco
signed and dated Jean A. Mercier - 5-22 (upper right) inscribed Rabat (upper left); signed, dedicated and dated a Madame Lecocq bien(?) affecteusement / souvenir de Maroc - on the backing sheet
gouache and watercolour over pencil
19.2 x 24.5 cm (7 5/8 x 9 5/8 in) unframed

Provenance:

Mme Lecocq (acquired from the artist) Executed in Morocco in May 1922, the present work appears to depict a small cemetery on the Atlantic coast of Rabat, just north of the Kasbah des Oudaïas and to the north and east of the larger Cimitière As-Shouhada. Mercier's subsequent career was as a successful graphic and commercial artist. He designed more than 120 cinema posters for such leading directors as Jean Renoir and Sacha Guitry, and contributed interior designs for the transatlantic ocean liner the SS France in 1961.