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C1896
(September)
Les Coulisses de l’Opera.
Artist:
Jules Cheret - French Artist (1836 - 1932)
“For the show ‘Backstage at the Opera’ at the Grevin Museum, we observe a bevy of enchantresses practising their dance steps, their movements caught so vividly we can practically feel the whiff of air stirred up by their pirouettes. This … Read Full Description
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Full Title:
Les Coulisses de l’Opera.
Date:
C1896
(September)
Artist:
Jules Cheret - French Artist (1836 - 1932)
Condition:
In good condition
Technique:
Lithograph printed in colour.
Image Size:
150mm
x 370mm
AUTHENTICITY
Genuine antique
dated:
September
Description:
“For the show ‘Backstage at the Opera’ at the Grevin Museum, we observe a bevy of enchantresses practising their dance steps, their movements caught so vividly we can practically feel the whiff of air stirred up by their pirouettes. This is one of Cheret’s masterpieces. The place where shows like this were held is a Paris original: originally a waxworks founded around 1880 by caricaturist Alfred Grevin, it included a 500 seat auditorium were live performances were given to supplement the meagre income Grevin was making from the museum part of the operation. The theatre had mirrored walls, and Cheret himself painted the ceiling. The presentations included a mix of magic shows, revues and concerts, anything to bring in the patrons. What’s perhaps most amazing is that the place is still in business and still uses the same approach of museum (22 tableaux from the Belle Epoque) and live entertainment”
Reference: Rennert, PAI-XXXII, 253
This
poster is from the series, Les
Maitres de l’Affiche (The
Masters of the Poster ) took five years to produce from 1895 to1900.
It
is one of the most prestigious and influential art publications in
history. This series features the most outstanding posters of the
late 19th century when the medium was only used for commercial
advertising. During the 19th century the poster celebrated its
golden era under the hands of famous artist such as, Cheret, Toulouse
Lautrec, Mucha and Steinlen. They elevated the poster from a
commercial medium to innovative art form. By the 1890s, the
streets of every great metropolis were enlivened by large,
colourful posters. The poster had not only caught the eye of the
public, but it’s best examples were already being regarded as works
of art, to be exhibited, reviewed in journals and collected.
In
1895, the Imprimerie Chaix firm published reduced chromolithographic
versions of over 200 the best posters of the period by more than 90
great artists. This Chaix publication Les
Maitres de l’Affiche,
was issued as separate numbered lithographs, every month for 60
months from 1895 to 1900.
Of
the 97 artists represented all were prominent artists of the day.
The
lithograph was issued with an embossed seal at the lower right
further signifying its authenticity.
Biography:
Jules Cheret (1836-1932)
French painter and lithographer who became known as a master of Belle Époque poster art and is recognised as the ‘father of the modern poster.’
Born in Paris to a poor but creative family of artisans. At the of age thirteen, he began a three-year apprenticeship with a lithographer and then his interest in painting led him to take an art course at the Ecole Nationale de Dessin. From 1859 to 1866, he trained in lithography in London and on returning to France, created vivid poster ads for the cabarets, music halls, and theatres such as the Eldorado, the Olympia, the Folies Bergere, Theatre de l’Opera, the Alcazar d’Ete and the Moulin Rouge.
In 1895, Cheret created the series Maitres de l’Affiche, a collection of reduced posters of ninety-seven Parisian artists. This series was pivotal in the reassessment of posters being seen as merely advertising works but viewed for the first time as works of art. His success inspired an industry that saw the emergence of a new generation of poster designers and painters such as Charles Gesmar and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
