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Prints in Paris
Around 1900, Paris was swept by a craze for prints. Young artists, in particular, seized enthusiastically on the techniques of etching, woodcut and lithography. They made prints for the elite and for the masses. Prints could be found all over the city, in chic apartments and on the streets.
'At the moment prints are the exclusive interest here, it is a mania, the young artists no longer do anything else.
Camille Pissarro in a letter to his son, the artist Lucien Pissarro, 1897
Modern artists embraced the art of printmaking. Painting was no longer their ultimate goal. They were just as eager to use their talents to design print series, book covers, posters and magazine illustrations.
In this way, they rejected the traditional dividing line between 'high' arts such as sculpture and painting and 'low' decorative arts.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was one of those pioneering artists. He depicted modern Paris life as no other artist could. Toulouse-Lautrec used many different media and made art for many kinds of consumers.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa came from one of France's oldest aristocratic families. Only one-and-a-half metres (about four-and-a-half feet) tall, he cut a remarkable figure. Toulouse-Lautrec's health was delicate.
He found consolation in the theatres and brothels of Paris, with dancers and prostitutes. His art is inextricably linked to his eccentric, bohemian lifestyle.
Toulouse-Lautrec was equally happy to make a painting for a gallery or an illustration for a cheap magazine sold at kiosks. In any case, the singer Yvette Guilbert was one of his favourite subjects.
Toulouse-Lautrec devoted this entire artist's book to Yvette Guilbert. For the front cover, he needed no more than her discarded gloves. The book was presented as a prestigious collector's item. There were only 100 copies – all signed by Guilbert.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Yvette Guilbert singing ‘Linger, Longer, Loo’, 1894, Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow
Toulouse-Lautrec was fascinated with the performer Yvette Guilbert. She had a sharp, pale face, made exaggerated gestures and always wore black gloves over her long, thin arms. In his work, Toulouse-Lautrec tried to capture her essence.
Photograph of Yvette Guilbert wearing her black gloves
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Yvette Guilbert, illustration from Le Rire, 22 December 1894, private collection
An illustration must be designed for quick reading. This clear image of Guilbert is made up of a few black lines, a pair of black gloves and a head of orange hair.
The illustration was mechanically reproduced and could be bought at kiosks for only fifteen cents.
Toulouse-Lautrec's painting of the performer Guilbert served as a preliminary study for this illustration—a surprising reversal of the usual situation. That turned the traditional art world on its head!
Today the print is no longer content to be an ornament in the study room of bibliophiles, it has a much larger role… it conquers the world.
Critic Victor Champier, 1889-1890
For a long time, the print was seen as a means of reproduction. Around 1890, it rose to the status of a true, original work of art. This made prints appealing to collectors.
Print dealers focused on this new market, responding to the demand for rare unique impressions.
Fine-art prints were often hidden away in the homes of the elite. Collectors examined them in the peace and quiet of their studies. These wealthy gentlemen kept their print collections in special, decorated stands, portfolios and cabinets.
Henri Manuel, Roger Marx’s study, ca. 1910–1913, Legacy van Claude Roger-Marx, Musée de l’École de Nancy, Nancy
The critic and collector Roger Marx wrote about the restful ritual of looking at prints. In this photograph, he has just taken a print out of the portfolio.
He may plan to lounge on the comfortable sofa behind him, holding the print in his hands. According to Marx, you had to look at a print for a long time before receiving the artist's message like a 'whispered secret'.
The man at the piano seems wholly absorbed in his playing. Has he closed his eyes? We are witnessing an intimate moment. It is very much of its time, as the wealthy fin-de-siècle bourgeoisie was fond of withdrawing into its private interiors.
The artist, Félix Vallotton, constructed his woodcuts from expanses of black, shaping the scenes with details in white – in this case, the piano keys, the wooden floor and the wallpaper.
Anonymous, Leather portfolio on its stand, 1900, Robert Zehil Collection, Monte Carlo
Even the pieces of furniture used by art lovers to store and view their collections were designed by artists. These were true art objects. This print stand was made with inlaid and painted leather. The front shows an elegant lady examining a print.
After one of those long days of disappointing Paris life ... I throw myself into an armchair, close to the stand where my favourite engravings lie sleeping in their large portfolio, and as I examine them one by one, my troubles evaporate, I forget the cares of this world!
Critic and collector Roger Marx, 1883
The acquisition of a complete print series was a great luxury. Such a series, also called suites, consisted of prints by one artist, or sometimes a group of artists, under a single title.
The prints sometimes followed a storyline. In that case, they had to be 'read' in a certain order. More often, however, the artist chose a freer form. That gave him a chance to show off his skills.
Every serious print collector was constantly in search of that one unique print impression. Artists found clever ways of meeting this demand.
For instance, they might use different colour combinations for different impressions of the same print, or colour them by hand.
This lithograph of the dancer Loïe Fuller was published in an edition of sixty. Yet each impression was a unique work of art.
Toulouse-Lautrec kept changing the colour of the ink, and after printing he added silver and gold powder by hand.
Impression of a dance performance by Loïe Fuller
Loïe Fuller gave spectacular dance performances. The coloured lights and swirling fabric made her appearance change constantly. The ever-changing effects of Toulouse-Lautrec's print echo these performances in a remarkable way.
For his luxury prints, Toulouse-Lautrec often used the crachis ('spatter') technique. That made them more exclusive. This print had the high price of sixty francs. By comparison, you could buy a Toulouse-Lautrec poster for just two francs.
Prints could also be found outdoors, throughout the streets of Paris. Walls and columns were hung with colourful posters. In kiosks, you could buy illustrated magazines and sheet music.
Young artists were very enthusiastic about producing 'popular prints' like these. They reached a huge number of people with their designs, which were full of vivid colours, streamlined forms and distinctive lettering.
Welcome to the streets! Steinlen's huge poster represents the idea that the street is for everyone.
Figures from different social classes pass each other good-naturedly. The washerwomen with her basket, the worker with his cap, the fashionable Parisiènne and the banker in his top hat – they're all part of the scene. The poster became the 'fresco for the masses'. It reached all the types of people shown here.
There were posters for all sorts of products, such as perfume, ink and alcoholic drinks. Posters by artists hung side by side with more commercial designs and posters with nothing but text.
Poster designers had to make sure to convey their commercial message clearly to hurried passers-by.
At the age of twenty-three Bonnard designed his first advertising poster, for a French champagne brand. He used a beautiful woman to grab people's attention.
Bonnard simplified the forms and strongly accentuated them with black outlines. The lines curve and twist; everything bubbles and fizzes. This modern poster led to Bonnard's breakthrough as an artist.
Jules Chéret was sometimes called 'the king of the poster'. He always used attractive female figures and lively colours.
Here, the bright red letters indicate that the poster is for a 'theatrophone'. Subscribers could listen to opera and theatre performances on the telephone.
Modern Paris was known as the 'city of pleasure'. There was something for everyone: cabarets, dance halls and cafés with music. Posters of famous singers, dancers and actors were hung all over the city.
Artists made life-size, easily identifiable portraits of these stars, with their names in big letters. That way, no one could ignore them. This contributed to the 'celebrity culture' we still have today.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Poster for the performance of Aristide Bruant in the Café-concert Eldorado, 1892
In Toulouse-Lautrec's posters of leading performers, he sought the essence of their appearance and personality. He summed up the singer Aristide Bruant in this impressive figure, clearly identifiable by his large cloak, hat and bright red scarf.
Aristide Bruant
Even a cat can become a celebrity! Theophile Steinlen came up with an enduring icon for the cabaret Le Chat Noir. With its elegant black silhouette and hypnotic gaze, this cat has become unforgettable. Notice the ingenious way its tail curls around the letters.
Artists also designed covers for sheet music and magazines. Many copies were printed, on cheap paper.
The illustrations had to grab your attention, because potential buyers had so much to choose from. A compelling, colourful cover made a magazine stand out. The low price of newspapers made it easy for anyone to acquire an art work.
Ibels's illustrations for sheet music are filled with ordinary people from the streets. These pictures reflect the moods of the songs themselves.
Le 27 refers to the house number of a run-down brothel. It tells the story of an old whore who has tender feelings for a young client. The soldier reminds her of her own son at the front.
Félix Vallotton, Cover for Crimes et châtiments, special issue of the journal L'Assiette au beurre (1 March 1902), 1902
To attract attention to a cover, artists often used a single figure and limited themselves to a few bright colours. They also included elements of caricature, such as humour, exaggeration and distortion.
The important thing is to find an expressive silhouette or symbol that, through its forms and colours alone, can command the attention of a crowd and captivate the passers-by. The poster is a banner, an emblem, a sign.
Maurice Denis, 1920
Popular prints could be seen throughout the streets. But art lovers wanted their own copies to examine at home. At first, print collectors had to pull down posters from the walls. But soon enough there was a lively trade in collectors' editions. These were luxury versions, printed in limited numbers and often without text.
Prints for the streets were thus turned back into art prints for the elite.
This is an avant la lettre impression for an art lover. That means it does not include the lettering of the original poster. This 'blank' edition brings out the charm of the two cats.
The sympathies of the public reach out to the graphic, to what can be seen and understood without difficulty.
Critic John Grand-Carteret
