Jules Chéret, [Théâtre de L'Opéra / Carnival]. 1894.

Lot description

Jules Chéret 1836-1932 [Théâtre de L'Opéra / Carnival]. 1894. Condition B+: replaced losses and darkening at edges; repaired tears, creases and restoration at edges and along vertical and horizontal folds. Advertising a ball at the Paris Opera, Chéret uses a diagonal composition to build an exquisite ascendant crowd movement in the style of Tiepolo. The viewer's eye is further drawn to the diagonal by the color composition, in which the colors (and the detail) fade from bright and lively in the foreground to muted, fuzzy blues in the background. Not intended to be a decorative panel, this poster was originally printed without lettering, because it was slated to be used for three different masked balls (on the 6th and 20th of January and the 3rd of February). For each of these events the lettering was added afterwards. This is the version before text. Chéret 366, Broido 288, Maindron 246, DFP-II 236.