Artists in the late 1800s found opportunities to present their work to the masses through advertising art that began to appear as billboards and posters, plastering the streets of Paris. “Affiche Artistique” was the term that the French used to describe a poster that contained artistic expression. The art was so impressive to the public, people began to collect the posters as soon as they went up, which is why they are so scarce today.
Artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jules Chéret, Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen, and Alfred Choubrac, contributed to the creative body of work that became what some called “a free museum for the masses”. The craze for collecting these examples of modern art was even given the name, "affichomanie", meaning “artistic poster mania”. Collectors today pay hundreds, if not thousands for original prints of these rare posters.
This is part 8 of a 9-part series on art of the Belle Epoque. For more works in the series see parts 1 - 7 also.
Jules-Alexandre Grün (1868 – 1934)
Jules-Alexandre Grün was a post-impressionist
painter, illustrator and poster artist. Born in Paris, Grün studied under
Jean-Baptiste Lavastre, the theatrical director of the Paris Opera, and Antoine
Guillemet, the noted landscape painter. Grün was especially fond of
painting scenes of Bohemian lifestyle. He worked at the Chaix Printing
Company where Jules Chéret was his art director. Grün’s best known
painting titled “The Dinner Party” was completed in 1911.
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| 1893-94 Décadent’s Concert poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| 1893-94 Divan Japonais, Strack Créations poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| 1894 Le Carillon, Cabaret Artistique poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| 1897 Bal du Déficit poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| 1897 Le Grand Guignol poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| 1897 Nouveau Théâtre, Vachalcade poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| 1897 Trianon, Les Chansonniers de Montmartre poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| 1897-98 Tournée Milo de Meyer poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| 1898 La Cigale poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| 1898 L’Ane Rouge poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| 1899 La Bôite à Fursy poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| 1899 La Chanson de Montmartre poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| 1900 La Cigale poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| 1901 Folies-Bergère, Napoli Ballet Pantomime poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| 1901 Tréteau de Tabarin, La Bôite à Fursy poster by Jules-Alexandre Grun |
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| 1903 Gaîté Rochechouart poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| 1911 Friday at the French Artists' Salonby Jules-Alexandre Grün Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen |
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| 1913 The End of Dinner |
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| A Cheerful Montmartre Dweller by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| Casino de Paris, Réouverture poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| D’où Viennent-Ils? Du Tréteau De Tabarin poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| La Chanson à Montmartre poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| La Cigale, Allo!…Allo!… poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| La Pepiniere, oh! la la! mon empereur! poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| Où la Menent-Ils? "Au Violin" poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| Scala, La Revue de la Scala poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| Scala. Revue à Poilre poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
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| Théâtre du Moulin Rouge poster by Jules-Alexandre Grün |
Lucien Marie François Métivet (1863 - 1932)
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| Lucien Métivet (right) with Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec |
Lucien Métivet was
a French poster artist, cartoonist, illustrator, and author who achieved
notoriety during the Belle Epoque. Best known for his 1893 poster of the
chanteuse Eugénie Buffet, he was also a popular cover artist for the
Parisian humour magazine "Le Rire" and
a frequent contributor of cartoons and illustrations to it and other magazines.
He illustrated books by a number of prominent authors of the time and wrote at
least two books of his own.
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| 1890 La Femme-Enfant poster by Lucien Métivet |
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| 1891 A L'Hygiène poster by Lucien Métivet |
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| 1893 Ambassadeurs, Eugénie Buffet poster by Lucien Métivet |
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| 1913 Eugénie Buffet, Concert de La Cigale poster by Lucien Métivet |
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| Eugénie Buffet |
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| 1895 Nouveau Theatre, Les Joyeuses Commeres de Paris poster by Lucien Métivet |
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| 1895 Théâtre de L'Athénée-Comique poster by Lucien Métivet |
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| 1908 Scala, Pour Vos Beaux Yeux poster by Lucien Métivet |
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| 1909 Martgny Vosges poster by Lucien Métivet |
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| 1909 Martgny Vosges poster by Lucien Métivet |
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| 1920 Emprunt National, Société Général poster by Lucien Métivet |
Théophile Alexandre Steinlein (1859 - 1923)
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| Théophile Steinlen |
Théophile Steinlein was born in Lausanne and studied at the University of Lausanne before becoming a trainee designer at a textile mill in Mulhouse, France. In his early twenties he and his new wife were encouraged by painter François Bocion to move to the artistic community in Montmartre, Paris.
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| Le Chat Noir (The Black Cat) |
Once there, Steinlein was befriended by the painter Adolphe Willette, who introduced him to the artistic crowd at 'The Black Cat' (Le Chat Noir). This led to commissions for posters from Aristide Bruant, the cabaret owner and entertainer.
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| 1894 Théophile Steinlen exhibition poster |
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| 1896 Affiches Charles Verneau poster by Théophile Steinlen |
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| 1896 Cocorico poster by Théophile Steinlen |
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| 1896 Motocycles Comiot poster by Théophile Steinlen |
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| 1896 Tournée du Chat Noir de Rodolphe Salis poster by Théophile Steinlen |
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| 1896-1900 Mothu et Doria poster by Théophile Steinlen |
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| 1905 Clinique Chéron poster by Théophile Steinlen |
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| Chocolats Thés Cie. Française poster by Théophile Steinlen |
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| Compagnie Francaise des Chocolats et des Thès poster by Théophile Steinlen |
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| La Traite des Blanches poster by Théophile Steinlen |
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| Lait pur de la Vingeanne Stérilisé poster by Théophile Steinlen |
