René Vincent (Born 1879 – Died 1936) was a French illustrator. He worked in an Art Deco style and became well known for his poster designs. He was prevalent from the 1920s through to the 1930s. He had a particular design style that was very unique and involved the distortion of perspective and dynamism. At first he studied architecture at the Ècole des Beaux-Arts; he then changed to ceramics and graphic arts courses. In the period between the two world wars, he was influential in the Art Deco movement. Vincent was also an illustrator for The Saturday Evening Post, La Vie Parisienne, Fantiso and L'Illustration, most of his contributions to these magazines were fashion illustrations. He was also good at advertisements and created quite a number of advertisements for Peugeot, Bugatti, Shell Oil Company and Michelin.
Once in awhile, Vincent went by the pseudonym Rageot. He was a great fan of cars, and it’s therefore not a surprise that he was one of the first Parisians to have a garage built onto his house and was also one of the first French citizens to have driver's license. He preceded Geo Ham as the automobile poster artist of his time. Little is known of his personal life, though initially he was well known for his fashion illustrations. The artist also excelled in creating stylishly designed poster advertisements for beverages, fashion, and other products. Vincent influenced many other poster designers who followed in his footsteps in designing automotive posters; including Geo Ham. He died in Paris in 1936.
