# Pierre-Laurent Brenot

Pierre-Laurent Brenot (8 July 1913 – 8 May 1998), was a French painter who also had a great activity in fashion and advertising. He is also known as the father of the "French pin-up".

## Biography

Raymond (Pierre-Laurent) Brenot was born on 8 July 1913 at the 44th of rue de Vanves, in the 14th district of Paris.
In 1928, he entered the Ecole Estienne (School of the Book), which he attended for three years.
In 1932, he studied with the French designer Fernand Hertenberger. Brenot's power of observation and accuracy of pen stroke are very soon noticed.
During the "Years of Fashion" (from 1936 to 1950), thanks to his daring and his talent, he was hired by Mr. Chatard, a great dressmaker for men and women, within the store "Fashionable" based at the 16th of the Boulevard Montmartre. Brenot then created a line of men's suits. Moving forward, he made many fashion drawings for other great designers and milliners (Christian Dior, Jacques Fath, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Nina Ricci, Jeanne Lafaurie, Charles Montaigne ...), for Lanvin and Rochas brands as well as for some milliners (Maude et Mano, Legroux, Paulette).
He soon began to draw portraits, including those of Arletty, Francoise Fabian, Boris Vian and Jean-Claude Brialy.
From 1944 onwards, he started a career as a poster artist and illustrator. However, with the rise of photography in the sixties, this activity shrank badly. Pierre-Laurent Brenot then moved backward to his original painter vocation.
Pierre-Laurent Brenot died on 8 May 1998, in his estate in Loches.

## Career as a poster artist

This important period took shape around different themes.

### Show posters

From 1944 onwards, he produced numerous posters advertising cabaret and revue shows:
* Title
* Le Lido
* La Comédie Caumartin
* Bobino
* Le Paradis Latin
* Le Moulin Rouge
* ParisLine for Line Renaud

### Film posters

Around the 1950s, he was asked to design film posters, including :
| Title | Year of Release | Director | Main Actors |
| Devil's Daughter (Fille du Diable) | 1946 | Henri Decoin | Pierre Fresnay Fernand Ledoux |
| The Beach (La Spraggia/La Pensionnaire) | 1954 | Alberto Lattuada | Martine Carol |
| Frou-Frou | 1955 | Augusto Genina | Dany Robin Philippe Lemaire |
| The Bride Is Much Too Beautiful (La mariée est trop belle) | 1956 | Pierre Gaspard-Huit | Brigitte Bardot |
| Love Is at Stake (L’amour est en jeu/Ma Femme, mon gosse et moi) | 1957 | Marc Allégret | Annie Girardot Robert Lamoureux |
| Les lavandières du Portugal | 1957 | Pierre Gaspard-Huit | Anne Vernon Jean-Claude Pascal |
| Casino de Paris | 1957 | André Hunebelle | Caterina Valente Gilbert Bécaud |
| Dishonorable Discharge (Ces dames préfèrent le mambo) | 1958 | Bernard Borderie | Pascale Robert Eddie Constantine Lino Ventura |
| Vive les vacances | 1958 | Jean-Marc Thibault | Michèle Girardon Jacqueline Maillan Roger Pierre |
| Venice, the Moon and You (Venezia, la luna e tu/Venise, la lune et toi) | 1958 | Dino Rissi | Marisa Allasio Nino Manfredi |
| Julie the Redhead (Julie la Rousse) | 1958 | Claude Boissol | Pascale Petit Daniel Gélin |
| Les misérables | 1958 | Jean-Paul Le Chanois | Danièle Delorme Jean Gabin Bernard Blier |
| School for Coquettes (L’école des cocottes) | 1958 | Jacqueline Audry | Odette Laure Jean-Claude Brialy Darry Cowl |
| La fille de Hambourg | 1958 | Yves Allégret | Daniel Gélin Hildegarde Kneff |
| The Female (La femme et le pantin) | 1959 | Julien Duvivier | Brigitte Bardot António Vilar |
| Marie des iles | 1959 | Georges Combret | Belinda Lee Magali Noël |
| La fièvre monte à El Pao | 1959 | Luis Buñuel | Maria Félix Gérard Philipe |
| Picnic on the Grass (Le déjeuner sur l’herbe) | 1959 | Jean Renoir | Catherine Rouvel Fernand Sardou Paul Meurisse |
| Ravissante | 1960 | Robert Lamoureux | Sylva Koscina Philippe Noiret |
| Lettere di una novizia (La novice) | 1960 | Alberto Lattuada | Pascale Petit Jean-Paul Belmondo |
| The Opportunists (1960 film) (La Rabouilleuse/Les Arrivistes) | 1960 | Louis Daquin | Madeleine Robinson Jean-Claude Pascal |
| The High Life (La grande vie) | 1960 | Julien Duvivier | Giuletta Masina Hannes Messemer |
| Les bonnes femmes | 1960 | Claude Chabrol | Bernadette Lafont Stéphane Audran |
| Les années folles | 1960 | Miréa Alexandresco Henri Torrent | |
| Napoléon II l’Aiglon | 1961 | Claude Boissol | Danièle Gaubert Georges Marchal Jean-Pierre Cassel |
| La bellezza di Ippolita (La beauté d’Hippolyte) | 1962 | Giancarlo Zagni | Gina Lollobridgida |
| Sodom and Gomorrah (1962 film) (Sodome et Gomorrhe) | 1962 | Robert Aldrich | Anouk Aimée Stewart Granger |
| Darling Caroline (Caroline Chérie) | 1968 | Denys De La Patellière | Bernard Blier Jean-Claude Brialy Charles Aznavour |

## Career as an illustrator
### Advertising graphics

The 1950s also saw the appearance of his first advertising posters for well-known brands, including :
* Chocolat Poulain ;
* Lingerie Chantelle ;
* Lingerie Lou ;
* Parfum Soir de Paris de Bourjois ;
* Lustucru ;
* Vittel.

### Fashion Illustrations

He has also been commissioned by a number of fashion magazines:
* Bonne Soirée ;
* Formes et Couleurs ;
* France-Élite ;
* Images de France ;
* Modes et travaux ;
* Plaire ;
* Prestige de Paris ;
* La Vie Heureuse ;
* Vogue ;
* Votre Beauté.

### The creation of the French Pin-Up

During this period, he was also responsible for the design of the French pin-up in various publications such as :
* Paris-Flirt ;
* Paris-Hollywood ;
* Le Rire ;
* Stars et Vedettes ;
* La Vie Parisienne.

## Career as a painter

Pierre-Laurent Brenot has always devoted a significant part of his time to painting. He devoted himself fully to it from the 1960s onwards.
He has painted the portraits of many artists:
* Arletty
* Brigitte Bardot
* Jean-Louis Barrault
* Julien Bertheau
* Pierre Bertin
* Jean-Claude Brialy
* Coccinelle
* Denise Clair
* Maurice Escande
* Françoise Fabian
* Renée Faure
* Serge Lifar
* Pascale Petit
* Line Renaud
* Madeleine Renaud
* José de Trévi
* Boris Vian
* Jean Weber