Skip to main content

Father of the Modern Poster

Cheret, Jules - Taverne Olympia (pl 217)
Taverne Olympia advertisement, ca.1896-1900


Jules Chéret, lithographer and painter who created posters for cabarets, theatres, music halls and various other advertisements of the day, was born on May 31, 1836. Why I include him here in this blog is because of his very colorful and well-designed approach to his posters, which are both works of art and effective advertisements. Capturing the spirit of the late 1800's, known as the Belle Époque, Chéret took his influences of the Rococo and made it into something fun and eye-catching without being tacky or melodramatic. In fact, Chéret displays an uncanny ability to utilize colour harmony with effortless charm, and his drawing style is based on a Classical sensibility but slightly exaggerated for the sake of entertainment.

In the above example despite its simplicity we see design elements at work, from the way her dress points downward to the restaurant info to the way the two figure's glasses are raised unevenly to heighten the name above in bright yellow font. The way her hat covers up part of the bottom font of Taverne is a design element commonly used to this day on the cover of magazines throughout the world.


Cheret, Jules - Vin Mariani (pl 77)
Vin Mariani advertisement, 1896-1900

Here the main figure in yellow forms a dynamic x-shape against a blue background. Her left knee points toward the description, while her left arm curves as it pours the wine, mimicking the curve of the letters above her, and her dress points upward to reinforce the title. The faded figure behind her raises her glass up and also reinforces the unique title which is in bold red with black outlines...Chéret knew that the name of this product would not be easy to remember and made the design of the poster revolve around remembering Vin Mariani.


Cheret, Jules - Quinquina Dubonet (pl 29)
Quinquina Dubonnet advertisement, 1895

I love the subtle complementary colors in this composition, with another dynamic figure indicating the information with her dress and arms. What he did here with the coloring of the letters is particularly clever in that the first letters in red and in the remaining letters of the aperitif catches our eye and directs it back to her hair, which redirects back to her dress and arms and the whole composition. As painters we can learn much about using color here to direct the eye towards key elements of the composition.

Below are some of Chéret's drawings, which are again fun, charming and very eloquent...


Cheret, Jules - Woman with Fan (lithograph, 1896)


Cheret, Jules - Spring Flower (lithograph, 1897)


Cheret - La Musique


Cheret, Jules - Summer Concert (lithograph, 1896)






Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

More Old Master Drawings

There is nothing in all the world more beautiful or significant of the laws of the universe than the nude human body.
Robert Henri








Charles Louis Müller, A Standing Female Nude Leaning Against an Arch, ca.1864

Once again I decided to talk about some Old Master drawings and delve into the thinking behind how these drawings may have been created and the knowledge of the artist. In the above drawing by Müller, done in sanguine with white chalk highlights, the figure is drawn from a low view-point, with her body twisting toward her left side while resting on one knee. Note how Müller alternates the bent right leg with the bent left arm to create dynamic contrast. The right arm is also foreshortened and partially in shadow. Expressing power and femininity, this is a study that is Renaissance in spirit, even Mannerist, revealing the female nude as sculptural yet always graceful.







Anton Raphael Mengs, Seated male nude viewed from the back, 1755

One of several Academic nude studies by Mengs, this …
Read more

Guercino il Magnifico

Self-Portrait of the Artist holding a Palette, ca.1635


Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, known as Guercino was born on February 8, 1591 in Cento, a small city near Ferrara. He is one of the great masters of the Italian Baroque and poet of painters. Noted for his speed and efficiency, Guercino also worked in a number of mediums with equal passion whether ink, chalk, charcoal, or oils. His nickname, which means 'little cross-eyes' in Italian, derives in part from an apocryphal childhood accident where he supposedly awoke from a deep sleep as a child from a loud scream that caused his eyes to cross. Another story says something was thrown into his eyes. At any rate, he was self-taught as an artist from as early as nine years old and by his early teens was discovered by the eldest of the Carracci where he would spend some time at the Accademia Degli Incamminati before venturing out on his own. Despite his apparent 'handicap', his vision and talent would make him a giant that few…
Read more

Old Master Drawings

Drawing is not the form; it is the way of seeing the form.
Degas



A male nude from behind, c.1630 Gian Lorenzo Bernini

In this blog I talk about painting but the importance of drawing cannot be understated of course, and I believe we can learn just as much from studying their techniques of line and strokes as we can from brushstrokes...more in most cases as the drawing is more expressive and intimate. It reveals the personality and character of the artist.

The above drawing apparently comes from the period of Bernini's teaching at the Accademia di San Luca in Rome, one of four from the exact same model. This drawing is fairly big for a study, at 55.6 x 42cm (21 x 16 inches). Consider Michelangelo's study for Libyan Sibyl, is only 28.9 x 21.4 cm (11 3/8 x 8 7/16 inches), a small study for a fresco which would be painted several times larger than life size. I can only guess that Bernini was teaching a big class and that maybe his work was on display for students to study, or it ma…
Read more