[Gallery Walk] 130-Year-Old Commercial Poster Becomes Contemporary Art Piece

Toulouse-Lautrec Exhibition and Alphonse Mucha Exhibition... Rich Paris Painters of the Belle ?poque Era

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The 1890s marked the heyday of bicycles in Europe. The promotional battles among bicycle manufacturers were intense.

The British bicycle company Chain Simpson commissioned the artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864?1901), who was active in Paris, France at the time, to create promotional posters. In 1896, Lautrec painted posters for Chain Simpson featuring Jimmy Michael, the top British cyclist, and Constant Huret, the top French cyclist. These two posters can currently be seen at the 'Toulouse-Lautrec Exhibition - The Little Giant of Moulin Rouge' at the Hangaram Art Museum in the Seoul Arts Center. The poster featuring Huret prominently displays Chain Simpson's French name (La Chaine Simpson).

Alphonse Mucha (1860?1939), a Czech artist, created an advertising poster in 1897 for the American bicycle company Waverly Cycle, which was popular in Europe. In 1902, he also painted a poster for the British bicycle brand Perfecta, sold in France. Mucha's bicycle posters can be viewed at the 'Alphonse Mucha Exhibition' at the Mai Art Museum in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, which opened last October.

Although Lautrec and Mucha's works were merely commercial posters at the time, today their paintings are recognized as valuable works of art.

Toulouse-Lautrec 'La Chien Simpson', 85.1x121.9 cm, 1896, color lithograph
Photo by Made in View

Alphonse Mucha 'Perfecta Bicycle', 102.2x152.6cm, 1902 [Photo by Maia Art Museum]

Lautrec was born in 1864 in Albi, France. When he was eight years old, his parents divorced, and he moved to Paris with his mother. Mucha was born in 1860 in Ivan?ice, Czech Republic. He moved to Paris in 1887 and was active there.

The period when both artists were active is known as the 'Belle ?poque.' Meaning 'Beautiful Era,' the Belle ?poque refers to the peaceful and prosperous time between the end of the Franco-Prussian War (1870?1871) and the outbreak of World War I (1914?1918). It was a time of dazzling scientific and technological advancements following the Industrial Revolution. Bicycles were continuously improved with inventions such as the crank chain and pneumatic tires, enabling mass production of modern bicycles during the Belle ?poque.

The bicycle promotional posters painted by Lautrec and Mucha are considered among the representative works of both artists today.

Their artistic styles show clear differences. Lautrec meticulously depicted the bicycle chain to emphasize the functional characteristics of the bicycle. He highlighted the cyclists' calves, conveying a sense of dynamic power. On the other hand, Mucha's paintings hardly look like bicycle advertisements at first glance. In the Perfecta Cycle poster, the bicycle wheels are barely visible. Instead, a beautiful woman with long flowing hair leans sensually against the bicycle's header. Although both are bicycle posters, their promotional strategies were completely different.

Mucha mainly used beautiful women to sell the image of the product. He created posters not only for bicycles but also for various products such as alcohol, cigarettes, snacks, perfume, infant formula, and toothpaste. Consistently, he featured women with long hair resembling goddesses from Greek and Roman mythology prominently.

Toulouse-Lautrec 'Woman Filling a Bathtub (from the Elle series)', 40x52.5 cm, 1896, color lithograph
[Photo by Made in View]

Toulouse-Lautrec 'Moulin Rouge, La Goulue', 176x108 cm, 1891, color lithograph

Toulouse-Lautrec 'Poster - Jane Avril', 124x91.5 cm, 1893, Color Lithograph

Lautrec also painted many women. However, the women he portrayed were from Paris's entertainment districts.

Lautrec was born into an aristocratic family, which ironically was a misfortune for him. Many aristocrats at the time were genetically deformed or frail due to consanguineous marriages. Lautrec's parents were first cousins. He was genetically weak and, after breaking both legs consecutively at ages 14 and 15, he grew only up to 152 cm tall. Lautrec could not enjoy aristocratic pastimes such as horseback riding or hunting. Instead, he devoted himself to painting. His father disliked him, but his mother was a strong supporter.

Unable to mingle with aristocrats, Lautrec associated with people from the entertainment districts. The women in these districts did not feel threatened by the small and unimpressive Lautrec. He freely depicted their lives within their spaces as they were. Through his paintings, Lautrec mocked the hypocritical and pretentious upper class.

Paris's entertainment districts were a legacy of the prosperous Belle ?poque. The famous 'Moulin Rouge,' which has been made into several films, opened in Montmartre in 1889, the year of the Paris World's Fair and the construction of the Eiffel Tower. Two years after its opening, in 1891, Moulin Rouge commissioned Lautrec to create a promotional poster. His poster 'Moulin Rouge, La Goulue' caused a great sensation, catapulting Lautrec to fame. 'La Goulue' was the stage name of Louise Weber, a Moulin Rouge dancer, meaning 'The Glutton.' Thanks to Lautrec, La Goulue also became a famous star in Paris's entertainment district. Lautrec painted other dancers and singers active at the time, such as Jane Avril, Yvette Guilbert, and Aristide Bruant, turning them into stars.

Alphonse Mucha 'Gismonda', 68.2x210.8 cm, 1894 [Photo by Maia Art Museum]

Alphonse Mucha 'Spraying Perfume - Lodo', 145x95.8 cm, 1896
[Photo by Maia Art Museum]

Mucha also painted the era's top actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844?1923). Bernhardt was a recipient of the Legion of Honor. The opera 'Tosca' by Giacomo Puccini is based on a play by Victorien Sardou, which Sardou wrote for Bernhardt.

Mucha gained fame in 1895 by painting the poster for the play 'Gismonda,' starring Bernhardt. Bernhardt subsequently employed Mucha for six years to create posters for the plays in which she appeared.

Mucha did not only create commercial paintings. After earning money from commercial posters, he returned to his homeland, Czech Republic, in 1910 and painted a series of 20 works titled 'The Slav Epic,' which aimed to inspire Slavic national identity. The largest painting in The Slav Epic measured 810×610 cm, and the smallest was 480×405 cm. Mucha completed The Slav Epic series in 1928 and donated it to his homeland.

The 'Alphonse Mucha Exhibition' features over 230 original works, including prints, oil paintings, and drawings by Mucha. The 'Toulouse-Lautrec Exhibition - The Little Giant of Moulin Rouge' showcases 31 posters by Lautrec and more than 150 works, including satirical illustrations contributed to magazines.