Raymond Peynet (1908–1999), “La balle de l'amour” (“Catch the Ball of Love”) from the series “Les Amoureux” (“The Lovers”), 1985

Color lithograph, satin paper, 74 x 50 cm.
Signed in pencil by the artist “Peynet” in the center, limited edition, numbered in pencil 507/600.
Publisher: Mure Publisher, Nice; Artistic marketing: Edition du Cercle, Montpellier.

Affixed beneath the composition is an original postage stamp of the French Republic designed by Peynet, issued to commemorate Valentine’s Day in 1985, as well as two commemorative postmarks dated February 14, 1985, from the towns of Saint-Valentin and Saint-Amour, whose names clearly refer to Valentine’s Day.

Raymond Peynet was a world-renowned French artist whose charming, romantic figures have become icons of love and happiness around the world. He is best known for a series of drawings depicting a couple in love, commonly referred to as *Les Amoureux de Peynet* (Peynet’s Lovers). Peynet himself was called the “Painter of Love”

The idea for the couple in love was conceived in 1942 in Valence. Peynet was sitting on a park bench and, inspired by a gazebo where orchestras usually played, sketched two characters on a napkin—a slender poet and a delicate, long-haired girl. The drawing quickly gained popularity, and their images appeared on countless products. In the 1950s and 1960s, “The Lovers” became a symbol of France from a bygone era.
Peynet’s characters appeared on: porcelain and crystal (e.g., from the Limoges and Daum manufacturers), jewelry, vinyl records, scarves, postage stamps, figurines, etc. The couple in love is always accompanied by small animals, birds, and ladybugs, symbolizing a world of love and harmony.
Peynet collaborated with many artists, including Georges Brassens, who wrote the song “Les amoureux des bancs publics” (Lovers on Public Benches), inspired by his work.

Peynet created a total of 6,000 drawings dedicated to “Lovers.” In 1985, the French Postal Service issued a Valentine’s Day stamp featuring a drawing by Peynet, the original of which is affixed to this lithograph. In 2000, a 3-franc (0.46 €) stamp was issued to commemorate the late artist, featuring Peynet’s drawing of “Lovers Under a Gazebo.” In France, three museums are dedicated to Peynet’s work: in Valence, in Antibes on the French Riviera, and in Brassac-les-Mines, his mother’s hometown; and in Japan, there are two: in Karuizawa and in Sakuto. In Poland, a volume of Peynet’s drawings was published in 1958.