Alain Weill (born 7 September 1946) is a French expert in

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

and

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

, a specialist on

posters A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. ...

, art critic and collector.

Biography

Alain Weill attended the

École pratique des hautes études The École pratique des hautes études (), abbreviated EPHE, is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is highly selective, and counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions. It is a constituent college o ...

and then he studied

legal science Legal science is one of the main components in civil law tradition (after Roman law, canon law, commercial law, and the legacy of the revolutionary period). Legal science is primarily the creation of German legal scholars of the middle and late ...

. He obtained two master's degrees:

semiology Semiotics (also called semiotic studies) is the systematic study of sign processes (semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something, ...

and

sociology of art The sociology of art is a subfield of sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with ...

. As an essayist, Alain Weill has authored many books and

exhibition catalogue There are two types of exhibition catalogue (or exhibition catalog): a printed list of exhibits at an art exhibition; and a directory of exhibitors at a trade fair or business-to-business event. Art or museum exhibition catalogues Catalogues for ...

s dedicated to

graphic arts A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional, i.e. produced on a flat surface.

and advertising posters. He is an expert in graphic arts and advertising creation, notably with the company of auctioneers. He is also a

food critic The terms food critic, food writer, and restaurant critic can all be used to describe a writer who analyzes food or restaurants and then publishes the results of their findings. While these terms are not strictly synonymous they are often used int ...

, and a founding member of the Council of Culinary Arts. He is a former director of the

Musée de la Publicité The Musée de la Publicité was a museum of advertising history located in the Louvre's Rohan and Marsan wings, 1st arrondissement of Paris, at 107, rue de Rivoli, Paris, France. The museum first opened in 1978 as the Musée de l’Affiche, and is ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

(1971–1983) and was artistic director of the from 1990 to 2001. He is the jury president of the European Advertising Award.

Selected publications

* ''Art Nouveau Postcards: The Posterists' Postcards'', Images Graphiques, 1977 * ''100 Years of Posters of the Folies Bergère and Music Halls of Paris'', Images Graphiques, 1977 * Co-author with Jack Rennert, ''Alphonse Mucha: The Complete Posters and Panels'', G. K. Hall & Co., 1984 * ''The Poster: A Worldwide Survey and History'', G. K. Hall & Co., 1985 * ''Parisian Fashion : La Gazette du Bon Ton (1912–1925)'', Bibliothèque de l'Image, 2000 * Co-author with Israel Perry, ''Chocolate Posters'', Queen Art Publishers, 2002 * ''Le Design graphique'', collection «

Découvertes Gallimard (, ; in United Kingdom: ''New Horizons'', in United States: ''Abrams Discoveries'') is an editorial collection of illustrated monographic books published by the Éditions Gallimard in pocket format. The books are concise introductions to pa ...

» (nº 439), série Arts. Éditions Gallimard, 2003 ** US edition – ''Graphic Design: A History'', "

Abrams Discoveries Abrams may refer to: * Abrams (surname), a list of notable people with the surname * '' Abrams v. United States'', 250 U.S. 616 (1919), U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding free speech during times of war * M1 Abrams, main battle tank * Abrams, Wi ...

" series. Harry N. Abrams, 2004 ** UK edition – ''Graphics: A Century of Poster and Advertising Design'', '

New Horizons ''New Horizons'' is an Interplanetary spaceflight, interplanetary space probe that was launched as a part of NASA's New Frontiers program. Engineered by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Southwest Research ...

' series. Thames & Hudson, 2004 * ''Masters of the Poster 1900'', Posters Please, 2003 * Mirande Carnévalé-Mauzan, preface by Alain Weill – ''The posters of Mauzan'', Square One Publishing, 2008 * ''The Art Nouveau Poster'', Frances Lincoln Publishers, 2015 ;Collective work *

AA.VV. The expression "various authors" is used to credit creative works which are the result of a collaboration. In English it is more common to describe the authors of such a compilation collectively, for example by saying for what occasion the texts wer ...

, ''Les années 20 : L'âge des métropoles'', « Livres d'Art ». Gallimard and Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, 1991 * AA.VV., ''Gunter Rambow – Plakate / Posters'' (in German), Edition Axel Menges, 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weill, Alain 1946 births French art critics Collectors from Paris 20th-century French essayists Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite École pratique des hautes études alumni Living people