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La
Belle Époque
and Art Nouveau
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| With the birth of "3 stone
lithography" the streets of Europe and America soon became
vast open air art galleries as artists produced an abundance of
posters rich in design and color.
This developed of its own accord until the
1890s when the poster craze came into full bloom in an era known
as the "Belle Époque" when posters were elevated to a
"fine-art"status.
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Started in 1891 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
with his renowned "Moulin Rouge" poster other artists
were quick to follow and very soon Poster Exhibitions, Magazines
and Dealers were in abundance, both in the capitals of Europe and
throughout America.
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Confetti, 1893
Giclee Print
Toulouse-Lautrec,...
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By the mid 1890s poster art had developed
into a form known as "Art Nouveau", characterized by
organic lines and complex symbolism, combining decorative art with
usefulness.
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The first notable example of "Art
Nouveau" was created in 1894 by Alphonse Mucha in his
masterpiece poster produced for Sarah Bernhardt and quick to
follow were Grasset, Moser and others.
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| Sarah Bernhardt |
| Alphonse Mucha |
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"Art Nouveau" was to be the
dominant poster style right up to the commencement of World War 1. |
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