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Some of the most enduring images of fin de siècle Paris are the colourful posters emblazoned on boulevard hoardings, café walls and colonnes Morris, the ubiquitous advertising rotundas. Consumer art had never before been so appealing, as posters for cabarets, alcohol, music halls, perfumes and operas turned Paris streets into a riotous art gallery. Although many leading artists quickly recognised the attractions the poster medium offered for their work - one only has to think of Lautrec and Mucha - it was one man who pioneered the movement.
Jules Chéret (1836-1932) can quite rightly be called the father of the modern poster and in reality should take his place in the pantheon of what we now call graphic designers, standing alongside those who followed much later and were more well-known: Saul Bass, Milton Glaser, Alan Fletcher, Paul Rand. Not only was Chéret a formidable commercial artist, his three-stone lithographic process meant that designers could see their work reproduced in vivid colour. He acted as the creative director at the Imprimerie Chaix where, such was the popularity of the posters, over-runs were sold as collectors’ items: giant pieces of art, but virtually impossible to display unless one had the advantage of a high ceilinged salon. How could you enjoy such art when it had to be kept rolled up or laid flat in a plan chest?
The answer came in the form of Les Maîtres de l’Affiche. Every month, from December 1895 to November 1900, subscribers received by post from Librairie Chaix four reduced reproductions of the posters, loose sheets that cost 2.50 francs for one month, 27 francs for a year’s worth. Not only were they far more manageable than the large original street posters, the images were superior in quality because of the more refined lithographic process used and the paper stock. The size (approximately 39 x 30cms) also meant that they could be displayed properly with a broad margin around each image. The size also brought far more flexibility in display, as consistency in the trimmed size meant that infinite variations of grouping could be achieved - by artist, design or subject.
Jules Chéret naturally made sure his work came to the fore in the series; one in every four posters sent out was one of his. But just a glance through this first Les Maîtres de l’Affiche catalogue will show just how broad the appeal of other superb designers was, and how the series was not restricted to Paris or indeed France. A Beggarstaff Brothers Hamlet and Maxfield Parrish’s The Century Magazine rub lithographic shoulders with Mucha’s Lorenzaccio and Toulouse-Lautrec’s La Goulue.
The drawing, design, colours and wonderfully evocative lettering make these truly outstanding additions to anyone interested in commercial posters, belle époque Paris or just truly masterful artwork and printing. Each plate is printed with the Imprimerie Chaix number and marked with their blind-embossed stamp. |
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