Jules Cheret

Paper Summary:

The paper describes how Jules Cheret who produced over 1,100 posters in the 1890s, is considered the father of the Paris poster movement. The paper discusses how he was commissioned to create original poster art for advertisers and for the Paris Opera. He lived and created during what is called the Belle Epoque. The paper describes his background and the innovative methods he employed in his poster making. The paper examines how Cheret birthed an industry that remains today with painters such as Charles Gesmar and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec whose works are published as prints or posters. The paper illustrates how Cheret elevated ,what had hitherto been a commercial tool to publish black and white words, to an art form.

Outline:
Cheret's Methods
The History of the Poster
The Belle Epoque

From the Paper:

"To begin with, Cheret studied the techniques of past artists and admired and observed the painting techniques of the present-day ones. He visited all the Paris museums. He wanted to be a painter and the paintings he produced earned him a great deal of notoriety. But, observing the lives of the thousands of starving artists in Paris, holed up in leaky attic garrets, he realized that the life of a painter wasn't for him, especially since he had been working in a lucrative printing business. Although he was able to sell sketches to various music publishers in Paris, this did not satisfy Cheret."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Appelbaum, Stanley. The Complete "Masters of the Poster": All 256 Color Plates from "Les Maitres De L'Affiche." New York: Dover Publications, 1990.
• Barnicoat, John. Posters, a Concise History. London: Thames & Hudson. 1985.
• Broido, Lucy. The Posters of Jules Cheret: 46 Full-Color Plates and an Illustrated Catalogue Raisonne, Second, Revised and Enlarged Edition. New York: Dover Publications, 1992.
• Champsaur, Felicien. Entree De Clowns. Paris: Jules Levy, Libraire, 1886.
• "Cheret, Jules," The New Encyclopaedia Brittanica: Macropaedia, 15th ed. 1991.

More papers on Jules Cheret:

• Essay # 12444 : "Art vs. Design"
• Essay # 41158 : "Nicolas Francois Mansart and Jules Hardouin-Mansart"
• Analytical Essay # 4900 : "Jules Verne"

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