SYMBOL OF EXPLORATION

In 1880 Lefranc Bourgeois created the anchor and caduceus logo as we know it today.  

The anchor embodies stability, like the colours that stand the test of time. 

The pioneer and exploratory spirit is symbolised in this marine anchor and caduceus of departure, attribute of Hermes, the god of travel and trade.  

An emblem evocative of discovery, echoing many painters of the voyage, such as Mathurin Méheut, Official Painter of the Navy, explorer and gouache illustrator. 

Credit photo © Pascal Labreuche / Guide Labreuche

LINEL GOUACHE, THE PAINT OF EXPLORERS

The painter Mathurin Méheut, born in 1882, was a nature lover who developed an interest in flora and fauna at a very early age. His travels around the world, from his native Brittany to Monaco, via Hawaii to Japan, led him to observe, draw and paint landscapes, animals, plants and the ocean world. He became an Official Painter of the Navy (POM) in 1921. His scientific approach and his ethnographer's eye led him to immortalise on plates the evidence of the biodiversity of his time.
His works are produced with botanical precision, imbued with a remarkable
sensitivity enhanced by gouache

FROM ILLUSTRATION TO DECORATION

Brittany celebrates the painter Mathurin Méheut! A native of the region, he paid tribute to it all his life through his works.    

The new Mathurin Méheut Museum in Lamballe condenses a whole life of creation, from the study of the sea to the decoration of faience and ceramic, while an exhibition at the Pont Aven Museum retraces his career and his testimonies in gouache.  

Illustration and decoration have always been closely connected, as shown by the use of Mathurin Méheut's motifs by the Royal Manufacture of Sèvres and Henriot of Quimper. 

EMBARK WITH LINEL

Marie Détrée's missions as - Official Painter of the Navy - can last from 5 days to 5 months, on board ships or even ... submarines!

Linel gouache, for its unique and natural composition, is the only paint allowed on board and the painter can then transcribe her observations in her notebook.

At the end of each expedition, Marie has the opportunity to show her work to the whole crew.