Lucien Jonas

Lucien Jonas was one of the most prolific illustrators of images around the time of World War I. He studied in Valenciennes and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1904, he became a member of the salon of the Société des Artistes français, where he exhibited regularly. His works have been reproduced in many newspapers, magazines and eventually books worldwide. Between the two wars Jonas illustrated mainly historical and religious motifs

A gifted and talented artist, Jonas was mobilized in December of 1914 and in February of 1915 was officially accredited as “military painter to the Musée de l’Armée” in Paris. During the war he travelled extensively along all sections of the front lines and produced 1000s of drawings, oil paintings, charcoals, sketches and illustrations of all kinds. Jonas also designed anti-German hate posters, but he also produced a number of works that were unrelated to his war time portrayals.

At the peak of his career, he was commissioned to design a series of banknotes for the Banque de France and to decorate three pavilions at the 1937 World’s Fair. Le Coureur Cycliste, originally titled Petit Breton, was created in 1904 as a study for the painting The Final Sprint. It shows the French cyclist Lucien Georges Marzan. The painting in oil on canvas measures 65 x 81 cm. The picture can be clearly identified by the illustration in the exhibition catalog of the art competitions. Interestingly, another painting titled Le Coureur Cycliste is dated 1934.