PLM Uriage les bains la santé par le souffre tout le tourisme en Dauphiné 1936

This luminous 1936 original travel poster by G. Gorde, produced for the PLM railway company, promotes the spa resort of Uriage-les-Bains in the Dauphiné region, renowned for the therapeutic qualities of its sulphur-rich waters. Created during the golden age of French travel poster design, the work combines advertising, symbolism, and modernist aesthetics to evoke health, renewal, and sensual escape.

The composition is dominated by an ethereal, elongated female figure rendered in glowing yellow, rising like a vaporous apparition above a dark mountainous landscape. Her pose—arms raised, body arched—suggests both relaxation and rebirth, visually echoing the rising steam of the thermal baths. This spectral treatment transforms the bather into an allegory of healing itself, embodying the promise contained in the slogan “la santé par le soufre” (“health through sulphur”). The strong contrast between the radiant figure and the deep blues and blacks of the background heightens the poster’s dreamlike, almost mystical quality.

Stylistically, the poster reflects the influence of Art Deco and interwar modernism, favoring simplified forms, airbrushed gradients, and dramatic color transitions over descriptive realism. The sharp silhouette of the mountains anchors the image geographically, while the luminous figure lifts it into the realm of fantasy and desire. In this way, Gorde merges place and promise—Dauphiné is not merely a destination, but a source of transformation.

Today, this poster stands as a remarkable example of 1930s French spa and railway advertising. It illustrates how travel imagery of the period went beyond simple promotion, offering instead a poetic vision of wellness, nature, and modern leisure culture.

Original Poster

Railway - Tourism - Isère - France

Printed in Grenoble

Good condition, slight creases