Original 1888 Two Sheet Poster L'Enfant Prodigue - Cheret
Date: 1890s
Size: 33.57 x 90
Notes: Poster, Oversize, Lithograph, Linen Backed, over-sized
Artist: Cheret, Jules
Information: For more details, please call 514 656 3301
THIS IS AN ORIGINAL POSTER AND NOT A REPRODUCTION. By the 1890s the streets of every great metropolis were enlivened by large colourful posters . The poster had not only caught the fancy of the broad public, but its best examples were already being regarded as works of art (specifically, as fine prints) to be exhibited, reviewed in journals, collected and reprinted in a manageable form. In the last five years of the century, the Imprimerie Chaix was to play great part in codifying, hallowing and perpetuating the ebullient period of 'La Belle Epoque.'
Artist: Jules Cheret Title: Enfant Prodigue Description: Condition A-. Printed by Imprimerie Chaix, Paris on October 27, 1890 + stamped as such on bottom of poster (90 x 33 3/4inches. Chaix, Paris.
This poster was one of the first 'two sheet' posters - a poster which was essentially two posters glued together (two sheets), to make one larger longer poster. Cheret was one of the first artists to 'think big' and this is one of his first posters to evidence his ability to tangibly produce an artwork which could physically capture his larger-than-life imagination. It is striking and very much in keeping with his early palette of colors (later on he was much more taken with the yellows and oranges with which he dressed his Cherettes), and he uses the chiaroscuro of the poster to great effect...
Jules Chéret is considered the father of the modern poster. Born in Paris, he studied lithography, which was, at that time, a new, more economical method of reproducing colored designs. His research into this revolutionary process took him to London where he remained until 1866. He then returned to Paris and set up his own shop where he began printing theatrical posters in a remarkably innovative way. Chéret used these lithographic techniques to create lively, mobile images. His sense of design, his free-hand style, and his ability to smoothly incorporate written messages into his pictures were skills that combined to produce posters that attracted immediate attention and interest. Like Toulouse-Lautrec after him, Chéret was influenced by the Post-Impressionists and by Japanese prints. He used more detail, and depicted inviting, unframed scenes of figures caught in mid-action. Chéret's posters contained an unusually large amount of lettering, which brought the advertising component of his designs into prominence. His principles of good poster design influenced Toulouse-Lautrec , and paved the way for the many other poster artists of the day. Although rather bold in style at the turn of the century, Chéret later returned to a milder, more impressionistic treatment of his subjects. Jules Cheret was born in Paris on May 31, 1836 in to a family of artisans. Since the family had little money, Jules Cheret’s formal education ended when at the age of 13, his family could no longer afford to keep him in school. His father, a typographer, placed Cheret in a three year apprenticeship with a lithographer.
French lithographer, poster designer and painter, Cheret’s formal training in art was limited to a course at the Ecole Nationale de Dessin, Paris, as a pupil of Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran.
his continued perseverance led him to his first commission to create a poster. He revolutionized the field of advertising by his contributions in design and printing techniques. He designed over 1000 posters. This would later reveal him to be The Master of the Poster.. Condition A-: Slight water damage on bottom, NOT AFFECTING IMAGE (Photo available) Two sheets, mounted on linen.
