Theatre de L’Opera (1895-1900)

Jules Chéret prints bring the streets of Belle Époque Paris into your home. Chéret was the French lithographer who turned the advertising poster into an art form, filling the city's walls with laughing dancers, clowns and swirling color for music halls, theaters, cafés and everyday products. Our collection gathers more than 350 of his designs, from the Moulin Rouge and the Folies-Bergère to aperitifs, ice rinks and the opera.

About Jules Chéret

Jules Chéret was born in Paris in 1836 into a poor family of artisans and had little formal schooling. At 13 he began a three-year apprenticeship with a lithographer, then took drawing classes and taught himself by studying the paintings in the city's museums. His younger brother, Joseph Chéret, became a sculptor.

As a young man he spent several years in London, where British poster design and printing made a strong impression on him. There he befriended the perfumer Eugène Rimmel, who commissioned labels and packaging and later helped fund Chéret's own lithography firm in Paris, opened in 1866. One of his early successes was a poster for Offenbach's operetta Orphée aux enfers. Running his own press meant he could draw directly on the stone rather than handing his designs to a copyist.

In 1881 he sold the business to the printer Chaix and became its artistic director. Over the following decades his posters advertised the Folies-Bergère, the Moulin Rouge, the Olympia, newspapers, drinks, soaps, medicines and railway trips, and the writer Edmond de Goncourt called him "the first painter of the Paris wall." In 1890 the French government awarded him the Légion d'honneur for his contributions to the graphic arts, and in 1895 he launched Les Maîtres de l'Affiche, a series of poster reproductions by dozens of artists.

From the 1890s he turned more to painting and large decorative schemes, including murals for the Hôtel de Ville in Paris. He lost his sight in 1925 and died at his villa in Nice in 1932, aged 96. The Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nice bears his name today.

Style and Subjects

The heart of Chéret's work is the "Chérette": a young woman in a billowing dress, laughing, dancing or caught mid-leap. She became so familiar on Paris walls that she turned into an advertising icon of the age. Around her you often find clowns, Pierrots, skaters and performers, all moving across the sheet with a sense of fun.

Look for big flat areas of bold, bright color, especially reds, yellows and blues, with lettering worked into the design rather than boxed off from it. Chéret admired the eighteenth-century painters Watteau and Fragonard and also drew on Japanese prints, which shows in his light, airy figures and simple, strong shapes.

Famous Works

• Bal du Moulin Rouge, Place Blanche (1889), Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Made for the opening of the Moulin Rouge, it shows riders on donkeys galloping toward the famous dance hall.
• Saxoléine (1891), Victoria and Albert Museum, London. A smiling woman with a glowing lamp advertises a "safety" lamp oil in one of his best-loved product posters.
• Folies-Bergère, La Loïe Fuller (1893), Museum of Modern Art, New York. The American dancer swirls in a cloud of fabric, and the design was printed in several color versions.
• Palais de Glace, Champs-Élysées (1893), Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City. A woman glides across the ice at the fashionable Paris skating rink.
• Quinquina Dubonnet (1895), Victoria and Albert Museum, London. A cheerful advertisement for the aperitif, sold "in all the cafés."

Decorating with Chéret Prints

Chéret's posters are made for lively rooms. The café and aperitif designs, such as Quinquina Dubonnet, sit naturally in a kitchen, dining room or home bar, while the dance-hall and theater posters bring energy to a living room, hallway or entertainment space. The skating and seaside posters add a playful note to a family room or a guest room.

Because his colors are so strong, one large print can anchor a plain wall on its own, and several together make a cheerful gallery wall with a clear Paris theme. His warm reds and yellows pair well with wood, brass and cream walls, and they also brighten a dark or neutral room. Posters with dancers and performers suit anyone who loves music, theater or vintage French style.

FAQ

What art movement was Jules Chéret part of?

Chéret is best known as a pioneer of the illustrated poster in Belle Époque Paris. His bright, joyful lithographs set the pattern for the poster art of the 1890s and influenced younger artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierre Bonnard and Alphonse Mucha.

What is Jules Chéret's most famous poster?

Among his best-known designs are Bal du Moulin Rouge (1889), made for the opening of the famous dance hall, and Folies-Bergère, La Loïe Fuller (1893). Product posters such as Saxoléine and Quinquina Dubonnet are also widely recognized.

Where can I see original Jules Chéret posters?

The Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nice, which bears his name, holds his work, and many museums keep his posters in their print collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Posters on paper are often kept in storage, so check before you visit.

What makes Chéret's style recognizable?

Look for the "Chérette," a joyful young woman in motion, along with big areas of flat, bright color and lively hand-drawn lettering. His figures seem to float and dance across the page.

Why is Jules Chéret called the father of the modern poster?

He was one of the first to treat the street poster as art, drawing directly on the lithographic stone and helping make color printing cheaper in the 1870s. Edmond de Goncourt called him the inventor of the art in the poster, and the French government honored him in 1890 for his graphic work.

Related Artists

• Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Paris poster artist inspired by Chéret's success.
• Pierre Bonnard: painter and poster designer among the younger artists Chéret influenced.
• Alphonse Mucha: Paris poster artist of the 1890s who followed Chéret's lead.
• Georges de Feure: decorative artist and Chéret's student.