398 - MAYO, Antoine (born Antoine Malliarakis) (1905–1990). Mayo, whose real name was Antoine Malliarakis (1905–1990), was a Greek-French painter, production designer, and costume designer who became a key figure in French cinema from the 1940s to the 1960s.

MAYO, Antoine (born Antoine Malliarakis) (1905–1990). Mayo, whose real name was Antoine Malliarakis (1905–1990), was a Greek-French painter, production designer, and costume designer who became a key figure in French cinema from the 1940s to the 1960s. Close to the Surrealist movement and a close friend of Robert Desnos and Jacques Prévert, he left his mark on the history of cinema by designing the costumes and sets for absolute masterpieces such as Marcel Carné’s *Les Enfants du Paradis* (1945), produced by PATHÉ Cinéma. For Pierrot’s costume, Mayo designed the iconic outfit worn by the famous mime Baptiste Deburau (played by Jean-Louis Barrault). This garment is much more than a simple stage costume: it is a poetic reinvention of the traditional Pierrot costume. Mayo used a special gouache on his sketches to achieve a fabric effect of an almost supernatural whiteness. On screen, the garment’s dazzling white contrasts sharply with the dark crowd on the Boulevard du Crime, visually isolating the poet from the rest of the world. As director Marcel Carné pointed out, Mayo’s costumes are “woven into the story.” Gouache of the “Pierrot” costume designed for the character “Baptiste,” played by Jean-Louis Barrault in *Les Enfants du paradis* (produced by Pathé Cinéma), signed by Mayo with annotations, created in 1944. A unique gouache from one of the most legendary films in French cinema. Approximately 40 x 57 cm.