| Method | Chromolithograph |
| Artist | Frédéric-Auguste Cazals |
| Published | Les Maîtres de l'Affiche PL.15. Imprimerie Chaix (Encres Lorilleux & Cie) [1895] |
| Dimensions | Image 345 x 225 mm, Sheet 400 x 290 mm |
| Notes |
A beautiful reduced-scale printing of a belle-epoque poster advertising the Salon of the Hundred's seventh exposition, Plate 15 from Volume 1 of Les Maîtres de l'Affiche. The poster features the poets Paul Verlaine and Jean Moréas viewing the works on display at the Salon, a small gallery attached to the offices of 'La Plume,' a popular belle-epoque magazine. Both men were founding figures of Symbolism, though Moreas subsequently rejected his fellow Symbolists in favour of the Romanesque School. Meanwhile, Verlaine's increasing alcoholism, poverty, and drug addiction made him a prominent figure of the Decadent movement. Cazals, the illustrator of the scene, was one of Verlaine's closest friends. Les Maîtres de l'Affiche (Masters of the Poster) was the brainchild of the French painter and lithographer Jules Cheret (1836-1932), widely regarded as the pioneer of poster illustration. In 1895, Cheret, along with a team of poster artists working for the printworks founded by Napoleon Chaix, published the first in a series of five volumes of what they regarded as the finest examples of current poster art. Although initially focussed on artists that were based in Paris, the series quickly grew to encompass international artists and designs, including the likes of Toulouse-Lautrec, Mucha, the Beggarstaffs, Eugene Grasset, and Louis Rhead. Cheret himself was also a frequent contributor. Frédéric-Auguste Cazals (1865-1941) was a French artist and poet, best known for his close friendship with Paul Verlaine. Condition: Minor creases to sheet. Imprimerie Chaix blindstamp to bottom right corner of sheet. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £300.00 |
| Stock ID | 51297 |