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JULES CHERET (1836-1932)

$75,000

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<div>Jules Chéret’s <em>Portrait</em> is a lively pastel chalk on canvas that reveals the painterly sensibility behind the artist best known as the master of Belle Époque poster art. In this composition, two female figures emerge from a whirlwind of color and light, their forms dissolving into strokes of turquoise, rose, and gold. The surface vibrates with movement, recalling the theatrical energy and fleeting glamour that defined fin-de-siècle Paris. Softly modeled yet animated by sweeping gestures, the figures seem caught mid-performance—at once intimate and exuberant. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Though widely celebrated for his advertising posters, Chéret was deeply influenced by the Rococo masters, particularly Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Antoine Watteau. Their spirit of elegance, sensuality, and decorative flourish permeates this work, where lightness of touch and chromatic brilliance take precedence over strict realism. These same qualities made his vivid lithographic posters for the Eldorado, the Olympia, the Folies Bergère, the Théâtre de l’Opéra, the Alcazar d’Été, and the Moulin Rouge iconic emblems of Parisian modern life. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Chéret’s success in poster design helped launch a new generation of artists, including Charles Gesmar and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, solidifying the poster as a legitimate artistic medium. While he achieved recognition as a painter, it was his advertising imagery—initially undertaken to earn a living but later pursued with conviction—that secured his legacy. Honored with a posthumous exhibition at the Salon d’Automne in 1933, Chéret’s works are now held in major institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, the Musée d’Orsay, the Hermitage Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago, affirming his enduring place in the history of modern art. </div> <div>Jules Chéret’s <em>Portrait</em> is a lively pastel chalk on canvas that reveals the painterly sensibility behind the artist best known as the master of Belle Époque poster art. In this composition, two female figures emerge from a whirlwind of color and light, their forms dissolving into strokes of turquoise, rose, and gold. The surface vibrates with movement, recalling the theatrical energy and fleeting glamour that defined fin-de-siècle Paris. Softly modeled yet animated by sweeping gestures, the figures seem caught mid-performance—at once intimate and exuberant. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Though widely celebrated for his advertising posters, Chéret was deeply influenced by the Rococo masters, particularly Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Antoine Watteau. Their spirit of elegance, sensuality, and decorative flourish permeates this work, where lightness of touch and chromatic brilliance take precedence over strict realism. These same qualities made his vivid lithographic posters for the Eldorado, the Olympia, the Folies Bergère, the Théâtre de l’Opéra, the Alcazar d’Été, and the Moulin Rouge iconic emblems of Parisian modern life. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Chéret’s success in poster design helped launch a new generation of artists, including Charles Gesmar and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, solidifying the poster as a legitimate artistic medium. While he achieved recognition as a painter, it was his advertising imagery—initially undertaken to earn a living but later pursued with conviction—that secured his legacy. Honored with a posthumous exhibition at the Salon d’Automne in 1933, Chéret’s works are now held in major institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, the Musée d’Orsay, the Hermitage Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago, affirming his enduring place in the history of modern art. </div> <div>Jules Chéret’s <em>Portrait</em> is a lively pastel chalk on canvas that reveals the painterly sensibility behind the artist best known as the master of Belle Époque poster art. In this composition, two female figures emerge from a whirlwind of color and light, their forms dissolving into strokes of turquoise, rose, and gold. The surface vibrates with movement, recalling the theatrical energy and fleeting glamour that defined fin-de-siècle Paris. Softly modeled yet animated by sweeping gestures, the figures seem caught mid-performance—at once intimate and exuberant. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Though widely celebrated for his advertising posters, Chéret was deeply influenced by the Rococo masters, particularly Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Antoine Watteau. Their spirit of elegance, sensuality, and decorative flourish permeates this work, where lightness of touch and chromatic brilliance take precedence over strict realism. These same qualities made his vivid lithographic posters for the Eldorado, the Olympia, the Folies Bergère, the Théâtre de l’Opéra, the Alcazar d’Été, and the Moulin Rouge iconic emblems of Parisian modern life. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Chéret’s success in poster design helped launch a new generation of artists, including Charles Gesmar and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, solidifying the poster as a legitimate artistic medium. While he achieved recognition as a painter, it was his advertising imagery—initially undertaken to earn a living but later pursued with conviction—that secured his legacy. Honored with a posthumous exhibition at the Salon d’Automne in 1933, Chéret’s works are now held in major institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, the Musée d’Orsay, the Hermitage Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago, affirming his enduring place in the history of modern art. </div> <div>Jules Chéret’s <em>Portrait</em> is a lively pastel chalk on canvas that reveals the painterly sensibility behind the artist best known as the master of Belle Époque poster art. In this composition, two female figures emerge from a whirlwind of color and light, their forms dissolving into strokes of turquoise, rose, and gold. The surface vibrates with movement, recalling the theatrical energy and fleeting glamour that defined fin-de-siècle Paris. Softly modeled yet animated by sweeping gestures, the figures seem caught mid-performance—at once intimate and exuberant. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Though widely celebrated for his advertising posters, Chéret was deeply influenced by the Rococo masters, particularly Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Antoine Watteau. Their spirit of elegance, sensuality, and decorative flourish permeates this work, where lightness of touch and chromatic brilliance take precedence over strict realism. These same qualities made his vivid lithographic posters for the Eldorado, the Olympia, the Folies Bergère, the Théâtre de l’Opéra, the Alcazar d’Été, and the Moulin Rouge iconic emblems of Parisian modern life. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Chéret’s success in poster design helped launch a new generation of artists, including Charles Gesmar and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, solidifying the poster as a legitimate artistic medium. While he achieved recognition as a painter, it was his advertising imagery—initially undertaken to earn a living but later pursued with conviction—that secured his legacy. Honored with a posthumous exhibition at the Salon d’Automne in 1933, Chéret’s works are now held in major institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, the Musée d’Orsay, the Hermitage Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago, affirming his enduring place in the history of modern art. </div> <div>Jules Chéret’s <em>Portrait</em> is a lively pastel chalk on canvas that reveals the painterly sensibility behind the artist best known as the master of Belle Époque poster art. In this composition, two female figures emerge from a whirlwind of color and light, their forms dissolving into strokes of turquoise, rose, and gold. The surface vibrates with movement, recalling the theatrical energy and fleeting glamour that defined fin-de-siècle Paris. Softly modeled yet animated by sweeping gestures, the figures seem caught mid-performance—at once intimate and exuberant. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Though widely celebrated for his advertising posters, Chéret was deeply influenced by the Rococo masters, particularly Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Antoine Watteau. Their spirit of elegance, sensuality, and decorative flourish permeates this work, where lightness of touch and chromatic brilliance take precedence over strict realism. These same qualities made his vivid lithographic posters for the Eldorado, the Olympia, the Folies Bergère, the Théâtre de l’Opéra, the Alcazar d’Été, and the Moulin Rouge iconic emblems of Parisian modern life. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Chéret’s success in poster design helped launch a new generation of artists, including Charles Gesmar and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, solidifying the poster as a legitimate artistic medium. While he achieved recognition as a painter, it was his advertising imagery—initially undertaken to earn a living but later pursued with conviction—that secured his legacy. Honored with a posthumous exhibition at the Salon d’Automne in 1933, Chéret’s works are now held in major institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, the Musée d’Orsay, the Hermitage Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago, affirming his enduring place in the history of modern art. </div> <div>Jules Chéret’s <em>Portrait</em> is a lively pastel chalk on canvas that reveals the painterly sensibility behind the artist best known as the master of Belle Époque poster art. In this composition, two female figures emerge from a whirlwind of color and light, their forms dissolving into strokes of turquoise, rose, and gold. The surface vibrates with movement, recalling the theatrical energy and fleeting glamour that defined fin-de-siècle Paris. Softly modeled yet animated by sweeping gestures, the figures seem caught mid-performance—at once intimate and exuberant. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Though widely celebrated for his advertising posters, Chéret was deeply influenced by the Rococo masters, particularly Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Antoine Watteau. Their spirit of elegance, sensuality, and decorative flourish permeates this work, where lightness of touch and chromatic brilliance take precedence over strict realism. These same qualities made his vivid lithographic posters for the Eldorado, the Olympia, the Folies Bergère, the Théâtre de l’Opéra, the Alcazar d’Été, and the Moulin Rouge iconic emblems of Parisian modern life. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Chéret’s success in poster design helped launch a new generation of artists, including Charles Gesmar and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, solidifying the poster as a legitimate artistic medium. While he achieved recognition as a painter, it was his advertising imagery—initially undertaken to earn a living but later pursued with conviction—that secured his legacy. Honored with a posthumous exhibition at the Salon d’Automne in 1933, Chéret’s works are now held in major institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, the Musée d’Orsay, the Hermitage Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago, affirming his enduring place in the history of modern art. </div> <div>Jules Chéret’s <em>Portrait</em> is a lively pastel chalk on canvas that reveals the painterly sensibility behind the artist best known as the master of Belle Époque poster art. In this composition, two female figures emerge from a whirlwind of color and light, their forms dissolving into strokes of turquoise, rose, and gold. The surface vibrates with movement, recalling the theatrical energy and fleeting glamour that defined fin-de-siècle Paris. Softly modeled yet animated by sweeping gestures, the figures seem caught mid-performance—at once intimate and exuberant. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Though widely celebrated for his advertising posters, Chéret was deeply influenced by the Rococo masters, particularly Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Antoine Watteau. Their spirit of elegance, sensuality, and decorative flourish permeates this work, where lightness of touch and chromatic brilliance take precedence over strict realism. These same qualities made his vivid lithographic posters for the Eldorado, the Olympia, the Folies Bergère, the Théâtre de l’Opéra, the Alcazar d’Été, and the Moulin Rouge iconic emblems of Parisian modern life. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Chéret’s success in poster design helped launch a new generation of artists, including Charles Gesmar and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, solidifying the poster as a legitimate artistic medium. While he achieved recognition as a painter, it was his advertising imagery—initially undertaken to earn a living but later pursued with conviction—that secured his legacy. Honored with a posthumous exhibition at the Salon d’Automne in 1933, Chéret’s works are now held in major institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, the Musée d’Orsay, the Hermitage Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago, affirming his enduring place in the history of modern art. </div> <div>Jules Chéret’s <em>Portrait</em> is a lively pastel chalk on canvas that reveals the painterly sensibility behind the artist best known as the master of Belle Époque poster art. In this composition, two female figures emerge from a whirlwind of color and light, their forms dissolving into strokes of turquoise, rose, and gold. The surface vibrates with movement, recalling the theatrical energy and fleeting glamour that defined fin-de-siècle Paris. Softly modeled yet animated by sweeping gestures, the figures seem caught mid-performance—at once intimate and exuberant. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Though widely celebrated for his advertising posters, Chéret was deeply influenced by the Rococo masters, particularly Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Antoine Watteau. Their spirit of elegance, sensuality, and decorative flourish permeates this work, where lightness of touch and chromatic brilliance take precedence over strict realism. These same qualities made his vivid lithographic posters for the Eldorado, the Olympia, the Folies Bergère, the Théâtre de l’Opéra, the Alcazar d’Été, and the Moulin Rouge iconic emblems of Parisian modern life. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Chéret’s success in poster design helped launch a new generation of artists, including Charles Gesmar and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, solidifying the poster as a legitimate artistic medium. While he achieved recognition as a painter, it was his advertising imagery—initially undertaken to earn a living but later pursued with conviction—that secured his legacy. Honored with a posthumous exhibition at the Salon d’Automne in 1933, Chéret’s works are now held in major institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, the Musée d’Orsay, the Hermitage Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago, affirming his enduring place in the history of modern art. </div> <div>Jules Chéret’s <em>Portrait</em> is a lively pastel chalk on canvas that reveals the painterly sensibility behind the artist best known as the master of Belle Époque poster art. In this composition, two female figures emerge from a whirlwind of color and light, their forms dissolving into strokes of turquoise, rose, and gold. The surface vibrates with movement, recalling the theatrical energy and fleeting glamour that defined fin-de-siècle Paris. Softly modeled yet animated by sweeping gestures, the figures seem caught mid-performance—at once intimate and exuberant. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Though widely celebrated for his advertising posters, Chéret was deeply influenced by the Rococo masters, particularly Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Antoine Watteau. Their spirit of elegance, sensuality, and decorative flourish permeates this work, where lightness of touch and chromatic brilliance take precedence over strict realism. These same qualities made his vivid lithographic posters for the Eldorado, the Olympia, the Folies Bergère, the Théâtre de l’Opéra, the Alcazar d’Été, and the Moulin Rouge iconic emblems of Parisian modern life. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Chéret’s success in poster design helped launch a new generation of artists, including Charles Gesmar and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, solidifying the poster as a legitimate artistic medium. While he achieved recognition as a painter, it was his advertising imagery—initially undertaken to earn a living but later pursued with conviction—that secured his legacy. Honored with a posthumous exhibition at the Salon d’Automne in 1933, Chéret’s works are now held in major institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, the Musée d’Orsay, the Hermitage Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago, affirming his enduring place in the history of modern art. </div> <div>Jules Chéret’s <em>Portrait</em> is a lively pastel chalk on canvas that reveals the painterly sensibility behind the artist best known as the master of Belle Époque poster art. In this composition, two female figures emerge from a whirlwind of color and light, their forms dissolving into strokes of turquoise, rose, and gold. The surface vibrates with movement, recalling the theatrical energy and fleeting glamour that defined fin-de-siècle Paris. Softly modeled yet animated by sweeping gestures, the figures seem caught mid-performance—at once intimate and exuberant. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Though widely celebrated for his advertising posters, Chéret was deeply influenced by the Rococo masters, particularly Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Antoine Watteau. Their spirit of elegance, sensuality, and decorative flourish permeates this work, where lightness of touch and chromatic brilliance take precedence over strict realism. These same qualities made his vivid lithographic posters for the Eldorado, the Olympia, the Folies Bergère, the Théâtre de l’Opéra, the Alcazar d’Été, and the Moulin Rouge iconic emblems of Parisian modern life. </div> <br> <br><div> </div> <br> <br><div>Chéret’s success in poster design helped launch a new generation of artists, including Charles Gesmar and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, solidifying the poster as a legitimate artistic medium. While he achieved recognition as a painter, it was his advertising imagery—initially undertaken to earn a living but later pursued with conviction—that secured his legacy. Honored with a posthumous exhibition at the Salon d’Automne in 1933, Chéret’s works are now held in major institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, the Musée d’Orsay, the Hermitage Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago, affirming his enduring place in the history of modern art. </div>
PortraitLate 180030 1/2 x 18 1/2 in.(77.47 x 46.99 cm) pastel chalk on canvas
Provenance
Swiss Property
Germann Auktionshaus AG, Zurich, June 23, 2025, lot 00027
Private Collection, acquired at the above sale
Exhibition
Geneva, Switzerland, Petit Palais de Genève, Trésors du Petit Palais de Genève, May 18 - August 23, 1983, traveled to Osaka Umeda, Tokyo, Fukushima, Sapporo, Hakata
Rotterdam, Netherlands, Kunsthal Rotterdam, Schilders van Parijs Van Renoir tot Picasso - Verzameling Oscar Ghez, October 2, 2004 - April 3, 2005
Jules Chéret’s Portrait is a lively pastel chalk on canvas that reveals the painterly sensibility behind the artist best known as the master of Belle Époque poster art. In this composition, two female figures emerge from a whirlwind of color and light, their forms dissolving into strokes of turquoise, rose, and gold. The surface vibrates with movement, recalling the theatrical energy and fleeting glamour that defined fin-de-siècle Paris. Softly modeled yet animated by sweeping gestures, the figures seem caught mid-performance—at once intimate and exuberant.


 


Though widely celebrated for his advertising posters, Chéret was deeply influenced by the Rococo masters, particularly Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Antoine Watteau. Their spirit of elegance, sensuality, and decorative flourish permeates this work, where lightness of touch and chromatic brilliance take precedence over strict realism. These same qualities made his vivid lithographic posters for the Eldorado, the Olympia, the Folies Bergère, the Théâtre de l’Opéra, the Alcazar d’Été, and the Moulin Rouge iconic emblems of Parisian modern life.


 


Chéret’s success in poster design helped launch a new generation of artists, including Charles Gesmar and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, solidifying the poster as a legitimate artistic medium. While he achieved recognition as a painter, it was his advertising imagery—initially undertaken to earn a living but later pursued with conviction—that secured his legacy. Honored with a posthumous exhibition at the Salon d’Automne in 1933, Chéret’s works are now held in major institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, the Musée d’Orsay, the Hermitage Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago, affirming his enduring place in the history of modern art.
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