Date: 1896
Size: 10.75 x 14 inches
About the artist: From a portfolio designed by Gustave Henri Jossot and published by E. Menard + Company in 1896, which opens with the words of the artist: "Il faut tuer la guerre sous le ridicule!" (Loosely translated: "We must end war by making a mockery of it")
Jossot was born in 1866, and he was twenty when his firsts sketches were published in Dijon. At this time his personal artistic style and his sense of humour echoed the tastes and cultural views that surrounded him. While parodying the style of the Symbolists, by 1894 his eponymous designs has graduated to marry grotesque deformation with decorative distortions.
Much of his work lampooned the bourgeoisie , as can be seen from the titles of the illustrated books he produced: Artistes et Bourgeois (Paris: Louis Michaud 1896); Jockey-Club Sardines (1897); Minces de trognes (Paris: Hazard, 1896); Viande de Bourgeois (Paris: Louis Michaud, 1906).
The aesthetics of Jossot are closely linked with Nabis drawings and paintings, and with medieval illuminations and frescos, Japanese prints and french cartoonists, like Caran d’Ache, Morriss, and Louis Doës. Jossot was branded an anarchist, which he denied. Although he was never a militant, he was certainly an acid critic of the social and political systems of his time.
Caption: Mais, vil troupeau de bourgeois, vous ne comprendrez donc jamais que la poesie doit etre musicale, la peinture litteraire de la musique picturale?! (Translation: But, vile flock of bourgeois, will you never understand that poetry must be musical, painting literary and music picturale ?!)
About the Poster: Each sheet is captioned and the translations are as close to the French as possible. Some allusions must be lost due to time and place, but I have done my best to capture the essence of Jossot's original words.
This vintage print has been detached from the original publication. Edges can be frayed and/or folded, but all are intact. Please see photos.
RARE.