Maurice B. de Monvel, La Petite Poucette from Les Maîtres de L'Affiche, 1898, Original Lithograph

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Maurice boutet de monvel (1850-1913)

la petite poucette
(thumbelina)

year: 1898
lithograph on wove paper
publisher: chaix

signed in the … Read more Maurice boutet de monvel (1850-1913)

la petite poucette
(thumbelina)

year: 1898
lithograph on wove paper
publisher: chaix

signed in the plate, lower left

from the famous collection "les maîtres de l'affiche"
issue # 27, plate #106, february 1898

bottom left:
les maîtres de l'affiche pl. 106
imprimerie chaix
(encres lorilleux & cie.)

bottom right, blind stamp of publisher / edition

excellent condition

literature:
"the complete masters of the poster", edited by stanley appelbaum, dover, new york, 1990, p. 106
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about the collection "les maîtres de l'affiche"

les maîtres de l'affiche (the masters of the poster) is one of the most prestigious and influential art publications in history its 256 color plates have preserved for each succeeding generation a wide-ranging selection of outstanding posters from the turn of the century, when that popular art form had reached its first peak.

the earliest printed posters were chiefly typographic, with relatively few illustrated examples. But in the second half of the nineteenth century, when all types of commercial products, including printed matter, were being aesthetically upgraded, largely thanks to various arts-and-crafts movements, serious artists such as manet began to see new possibilities in the poster medium. It was especially jules chéret (1836-1932) whose unique combination of artistic, technical and entrepreneurial talents was to pave the way for a true poster industry. After chéret opened his own print shop in paris in 1866, his work continued to inspire numerous emulators in europe and america. From 1881 on, his shop operated as a branch of the large chaix firm (imprimerie chaix)

by the 1890s the streets of every great metropolis were enlivened by large, colourful posters.
this chaix publication, les maîtres de l'affiche, was issued as separate numbered sheets measuring 40 x 29 cm. Every month for 60 months, from december 1895 through november 1900, subscribers received a wrapper containing four consecutively numbered poster. On 16 occasions the monthly wrapper also contained a bonus plate, a specially created art lithograph. Jules chéret, artistic director of chaix and father of the modern poster, emerged with the lion's share of the plates, one chéret being included in each monthly issue of four, and seven of the 16 unnumbered bonus plates.

of the 97 artists represented in les maîtres de l'affiche, some were preeminent painters and printmakers at various stages of their careers: toulouse-lautrec, denis, bonnard, vallotton, puvis de chavannes. Others were famous illustrators and cartoonists of the period, still well known to art collectors and bibliophiles. Forain, caran d'ache, ibels, willette, boutet de monvel, léandre. But there were also all those whose names say "poster," the conquering pioneers of the new medium. Chéret himself, mucha, steinlen, the beggarstaffs, grasset, penfield, parrish, bradley, hardy the list could go on and on.
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about the artist

louis-maurice boutet de monvel (1850 – 1913) was a french painter and illustrator best known for his watercolours for children's books. He was a major figure in nineteenth-century children's book illustration.

in 1895 he published an illustrated children's history of joan of arc that has been regarded as his masterpiece. The epic scenes for joan of arc show the influence of two late-medieval painters: fra angelico in the use of modelling and paolo uccello in the composition of battle scenes. Drawn with a strong line and clear, harmonious colours, his illustrations drew critical praise even though he himself was disappointed in the quality of the reproductions, which had been done by zincotype, a then-new photoengraving process. As one critic put it:
boutet de monvel's full-page illustrations have a nobility and grandeur akin to the great church frescoes of the renaissance. Their pleasingly flat rendering combined with a sophisticated use of design elements\.owe a debt to the japanese prints so popular in the artist's day.

joan of arc was a huge success and brought him international recognition. In "a moveable feast", ernest hemingway mentions boutet de monvel's joan of arc illustrations, likening alice b. Toklas' hair to that of joan of arc's hair.

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important:

. The listing is for the original lithograph.
. The cover of the issue by jules chéret is shown for reference.
this piece has an attribution mark,
i am sure that it is completely authentic and take full responsibility for any authenticity
issues arising from misattribution See less