Wine And art, the famous labels of Chateau Mouton Rotschild

Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine. But there are some wineries who give great importance to their design up to the point to entrust great artists for their creation. It is what has happened to Chateau Mouton Rothschild, a wine estate located in the village of Pauillac in the Médoc, 50 km (30 mi) north-west of the city of Bordeaux, in France. In 1853, Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild, a member of the English branch of the family, bought the estate of Brane Mouton, part of the parish of Pauillac. He renamed it Mouton Rothschild. Until 1924, as in every vineyard in the Médoc, Château Mouton Rothschild wine was sold in casks to a merchant in Bordeaux who became responsible for everything that happened afterwards: maturing, bottling, labeling and marketing. From that time on, the label took on a new importance and a new function: it became the trademark, the proof of origin, the quarantee of quality and the signature of the vineyard. It was the famous poster designer Jean Carlu he commisioned to design the label for the 1924 vintage. It remains today as one of the greatest examples of the Cubist influence in commercial art. With the Liberation of France, to celebrate



Label by Salvador Dalì 1958

the return of the peace and to mark a new beginning, Baron Philippe conceived the idea of dedicating the vintage of 1945, one of the greatest of the century, to 'Année de la Victoire', the year of the Victory. He commissioned the young painter Philippe Jullian to produce a graphic design based on the "V" sign made famous by Winston Churchill during the war. That exception became the rule, and from 1946 on a contemporary artist was commissioned every year to create an original work to illustrate the label. The relationship between the artists and the owners of Mouton has always been based on friendship and trust. But also on mutual independence. Every artist can follow his own inspiration, to interpret the themes of the vine, the pleasure of drinking or the symbol of the Ram. Mouton is equally at liberty to reject a work if they consider it is not what they want or if it fails to fit the specific limitations of the label. The artists are paid no money for their work, but given instead a certain number of cases of wine of two different years, obviously including the year they provided the label. The most famous labels are that illustrated by Dalì, Mirò, Chagall, Picasso, Andy Warhol, Georges Braque, Francis Bacon, Antoni Tàpies.







Since Baron Philipe's death in 1988, Baroness Philippine, the Baron's only daughter, has become wholly involved in Mouton and the family firm. It has become her responsibilty to choose the painter to illustrate the Mouton Rothschild label.

The last artist, for the moment, who has been select to illustrate the label was the british sculptor Anish Kapoor in 2009.

See all the labels on theartistlabels.com

 

(Sources:theartistlabels.com; lafite.com)





Label by Wharol 1975

Label by Picasso 1973



Label by Chagall 1970