Raymond Peynet was the most popular illustrator in France in the 20th century and was loved by the public. Let's explain his popularity and value in the 21st century.
Raymond Peynet's works value
1. Artworks by Raymond Peynet
Raymond Peynet was an illustrator who published his works in magazines, so he did not produce and sell many paintings like a painter. He created illustrations for magazines and posters, and painted the originals with ink, watercolors, and opaque watercolors. As far as I know, I have never seen any of his oil paintings. However, Peynet produced etchings of the 12 zodiac signs in 1978, about 40 lithographs in 1985, and several lithographs in the 1990s, which he signed in pencil as proof that they were original prints. In other words, the only works left by Raymond Peynet that have value as art are the original drawings and original prints (etchings and lithographs) signed by the artist himself. Posters may also be rare.
2. Raymond Peynet was the most popular French illustrator of the 20th century.
Raymond Peynet was born in 1908 and died near Nice in 1999.
After graduating from an art school, he worked in the advertising design industry, and at the age of 28, he drew illustrations for a French English newspaper, which drew attention, and he continued to draw illustrations for various magazines. At the age of 44, he published a series of illustrations of lovers in a magazine, and Peynet's lovers suddenly became the center of attention. As the popularity of Peynet's lovers increased, toy companies began selling Peynet's doll series, and tableware companies began selling tableware of Peynet's lovers (the German company Rosenthal still produces and sells Peynet's tableware series), and Raymond Peynet became the most famous illustrator in France, and Raymond Peynet and his lovers gained national recognition. After the war, Japan became a manga powerhouse, and many star manga artists were born, but Raymond Peynet became the most famous illustrator in France. In other words, Raymond Peynet's lovers were as popular as Astro Boy, Anpanman, and Doraemon combined.
3: Raymond Peynet Museums and Fans <There are several Raymond Peynet museums and theme parks.>
①The Raymond Peynet Museum is located in Karuizawa, Japan. Karuizawa is the most luxurious villa area in Japan, and the Peynet Museum is located in the popular Taliesin Cultural Park, making it an important tourist resource for Karuizawa.
②The Raymond Peynet and Humorous Writers Museum is also located in Antibes, on the Cote d'Azur in southern France. Along with the adjacent Picasso Museum, it is run by the city of Antibes and is an important tourist resource for Antibes and the Cote d'Azur. Recently, Raymond Peynet has become popular in Asian countries other than Japan, and tourists from China and Korea are also visiting. A large-scale Raymond Peynet exhibition has been held in Korea, and Raymond Peynet dolls are produced and sold in China. Goujon, director of the Raymond Peynet and Humorous Writers Museum in Antibes, said:
③There is a theme park for Le Raymond Peynet in Mimasaka city, Okayama prefecture. It is called Sakuto Valentine Park, and the Sakuto Museum inside is a museum of Peynet's paintings. The Fountain of Love in the park has statues of Peynet's lovers. There is also a hotel with a wedding hall called the Valentine Hotel built next to it.
④ St. Valentine City is named after the angel of love, the guardian angel of lovers, so the city is built around the theme of love between lovers. There is a Raymond Peynet Theme Museum, and the city is sister city with Mimasaka City, where the Sakuto Valentine Park is located in Japan. There is a Raymond Peynet Theme Museum that displays Peynet's paintings and goods.
Photo of the interior of the Raymond Peynet Theme Hall
Peine's marriage certificate issued by the city of San Valentine
The original lithograph print of the picture used on this envelope is being sold by the Japanese gallery Adeka.
⑤Hiroshima Peace Park is a park dedicated to praying for peace, centered around the Atomic Bomb Dome, and in one corner there is a statue of lovers by Raymond Peynet, which is named the ``Monument of Love and Peace.''
Monument of love and peace
⑥Saint-Briac, France, is the hometown of Raymond Peynet's mother and is also home to the Raymond Peynet Museum.
Peynet Museum in Saint-Briac
⑦ Valence, France, is home to the Peynet Open-Air Concert Hall Museum (Musee Kiosque Peynet). When Raymond Peynet was 44 years old, he saw the Open-Air Concert Hall in Valence and was inspired to paint The Lovers in the Open-Air Concert Hall. Valence is considered the birthplace of The Lovers by Peynet.
Peine Open-Air Museum
⑧ Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco is a big fan of Raymond Peynet and has a collection of dolls of all of his lovers.
4. Raymond Peynet's paintings are becoming more popular
I started importing French paintings in the late 1980s. At the time, we were heading towards the bubble economy, and French artists such as Buffet, Brasilier, Cassignol, Cathelin, and Janssen were the popular stars of the French painting market in Japan, selling at high prices. In addition to them, about 10 other French artists were also popular. Prints by Raymond Peynet were also imported to Japan and were popular, but while Buffet and Brasilier prints were selling for over 500,000 yen, Peynet's prints were selling for less than 200,000 yen.
At present, the prices of the above artists, except for Buffet, have dropped considerably and are being sold for several tens of thousands of yen on the Internet. Of course, Raymond Peynet's works can also be seen being sold for several tens of thousands of yen on Yahoo Auctions. Buffet has passed away, but Maurice Garnier, a gallery in Paris that specializes in Buffet, is still in business and is reproducing the value of Buffet's works, and his works are featured in various publications, so their prices in France are being maintained. As for the other artists, they are no longer producing new works and galleries are no longer handling them, so their second-hand works are being sold off on the Internet. At present, second-hand works by high-priced artists from 30 to 40 years ago and second-hand works by Raymond Peynet are roughly the same price. Paintings by former high-priced artists will soon no longer attract anyone's interest. In other words, the prices of their works will approach zero. On the other hand, the value of Raymond Peynet has increased.
5. Why Raymond Peynet's works are becoming more valuable today
Reason 1 : Raymond Peynet is becoming more popular among Chinese and Koreans. Previously, Peynet was popular mainly in France, Europe, America, and Japan, but his popularity is spreading to China and Korea. Large-scale exhibitions of Raymond Peynet have been held in Korea, and Chinese people are making and selling Peynet dolls in China. At the Raymond Peynet and Humorous Artists Museum in Antibes, Chinese dolls were exhibited alongside Peynet dolls made and sold in France in the 20th century. The French dolls were mass-produced and sold by French doll manufacturers in the 20th century, but they have all been scattered and the museum cannot obtain them all, so the museum is also exhibiting the Chinese dolls that are currently available. The Principality of Monaco has collected all kinds of French Peynet dolls, and the museum would like to take them over, but the Principality is unwilling to sell them. In the 20th century, Raymond Peynet's market was France, Europe, America, and Japan, but in the 21st century, the purchasing base of Peynet fans is expanding to China and Korea.
Reason 2 : Today, Raymond Peynet's original prints are recognized as works of art. The values of illustrations and manga are very different between the 1980s and today. In the 1980s, manga and anime (Peynet's Lovers were also considered manga, not art) were considered low-grade and were not recognized as works of art. Now in the 21st century, manga and anime are very popular, manga is a cash cow for publishers, and anime film directors such as Hayao Miyazaki have joined the ranks of great artists. It is an era when Japanese manga artists Rieko Ikeda and Jiro Taniguchi received medals from the French government. In the 21st century, limited edition prints of manga protagonists (Anpanman, Doraemon, characters from Galaxy Express by Reiji Matsumoto, Joe Yabuki by Tetsuya Chiba, etc.) are produced and signed by the manga artists or stamped or imprinted with signatures, and are sold for hundreds of thousands of yen at department store art galleries and event venues. In other words, prints of these characters are being sold at the same price as original prints by popular French artists from the 1980s. A new, limited edition, original print by Raymond Peynet, autographed by the artist, is certainly more valuable than a limited edition print of a Japanese manga character produced by a dealer. Driven by this manga art boom, Raymond Peynet's prints, which were thought to be low-value original manga prints in the 20th century, are re-emerging on the art market as fine art.
6. Differences between new and used items
The original prints (etchings and lithographs) by Raymond Peynet sold by Galerie Adeka are not second-hand goods, but brand new works purchased directly from the publisher in Nice. As mentioned at the beginning, original prints by popular artists that sold for high prices in the 1980s are being sold for several tens of thousands of yen on Yahoo! Auctions and other sites. Original prints by Raymond Peynet are also sold for the same price, but these are thought to be second-hand goods.
It is difficult to distinguish whether second-hand works for sale on the Internet are genuine or fake. Reprints (prints that are not originals made by the artist, i.e., not genuine prints) are also on the market. Original works are generally signed by the artist, but there are also stamp signatures (a stamp that imitates the artist's signature) and imprinted signatures (the signature is printed together with the print), which have no value as genuine works. You can also see offset prints being sold with frames. Since Peynet is popular worldwide, it is only natural that such printed works are on the market. Even if they have no value, there are many people who want to display Peynet's paintings, so the circulation of many of these printed works is a welcome thing.
These prints are good for enjoyment, but they have no value as art. All of the original prints (lithographs and etchings) by Raymond Peynet that we sell are brand new works purchased directly from the publisher, Mr. Muret, and are signed by the artist and have a limited edition. In other words, their value as original works is guaranteed.
When a valuable painting is sold at an auction, the provenance of the work is important. In other words, the route from which the work was purchased must be clearly stated, and if the source is unknown, the value may decrease or suspicion of fakeness may arise. It is true that second-hand items such as bags, jewelry, and clothing can be purchased cheaply, but if you are uncomfortable wearing items that have been used by others, you should buy new items even if they are expensive. When it comes to art, if you want to purchase a valuable genuine item, it is best to avoid second-hand items on Yahoo Auctions or the Internet.
Mr. Alexander Tokar, the French distributor of Raymond Peynet's original prints, and his wife Yasuhiro Takeda of Galerie Adeka, and painter Georges Monin at Monin's home in Paris.
The original prints by Raymond Peynet that we (Galerie Adeka) sell are genuine new works that we purchased directly from Mr. Muret, who produced prints in collaboration with Raymond Peynet, through Mr. Muret's nephew, Alexandre Tocart of Editions des Cercles, the distributor of Mr. Muret's prints. As such, they are brand new and highly valuable.
Mr. Alexander Tokar and his wife, Yasuhiro Takeda of Editions des Cercles, the French distributor of Raymond Peynet's original prints, in Montpellier.
If you would like to hang a Raymond Peynet painting in your home or office and feel closer to a world of love and peace, where lovers and adorable forest plants and animals live in harmony with nature, I recommend that you be aware of the differences I have explained and make the choice that is right for you.
I am a merchant and a witness to the Japanese art market from the 1980s to the present. I have explained the value of Raymond Peynet's paintings and the Japanese art market from my perspective as a witness to the times, focusing on French artists.
I (Galerie Adeka's Yasuhiro Takeda) have been importing and selling French art (works by artists of the 20th and 21st centuries) to Japan for 35 years since I founded my company in 1986. I spent six years as a student in the south of France and Paris when I was young, and I have been familiar with French art from the Renaissance to the present.
He has operated direct sales galleries at art galleries and event venues in famous department stores such as Mitsukoshi, Daimaru, Isetan, Tobu, and Tokyu, as well as at Karuizawa Prince Hotel, Takanawa Prince Hotel, and the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry Exhibition Hall at Sunshine.
The art industry has shrunk, particularly the number of companies importing art from Europe (mainly France). Several companies closed between 2015 and 2016. As a result, our company received requests from art galleries, department stores, and mail-order companies, and in response, we shifted from being primarily retail-based to being primarily wholesale-based.
From my background and experience described above, I believe you will understand that I am not only a merchant in the Japanese art market, especially the French art market, but also a witness to the times.