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The Black Cat and More

© Douglas Russell

Aside from the dominating presence of Jules Cheret and Toulouse-Lautrec, many other prominent European artists and illustrators were also active in the field of poster art at the turn of the century.

Theophile Steinlen was born in 1859 and raised in Switzerland. After leaving a university without a degree and then serving as an apprentice in a textile factory, where he produced original designs to be printed on fabric, Steinlen made his way to Paris in 1881. He settled in Montmartre, yet another aspiring artist who sought the heady atmosphere and camaraderie that existed there for those interested in art and culture.

He often visited Le Chat Noir, the same cabaret that attracted Lautrec, and became friends with the owner, Rudolphe Salis. Designing his first poster in 1885, Steinlen soon turned his talents to many other fields, too, including painting, printing and sculpture. He was very active throughout the 1890s and had a long and productive career. He died in 1923.

Perhaps Steinlen's most recognizable work is his distinctive poster for Le Chat Noir. This simple, yet vivid design in red, black and gold portrays a very large black cat gazing at the observer from the left side of the poster. Prominent lettering identifies the name of the cabaret, as well as that of the owner. Many of his other images are also memorable. These include a golden-haired little girl drinking milk, while the family cats sit at her feet and look longingly at her; an attractive young woman in an advertisement for a veterinary clinic; and another young woman in a poster for motorcycles, scattering geese, as she cycles along a country road. Steinlen also produced posters for many other products, including metal polish, biscuits and even rat poison! He illustrated magazine covers, designed travel posters and created others to announce theater performances. His work is readily found on many of the Web sites I have shown under "Links," is reasonably priced and available in a variety of sizes.

Jean de Paleologue, otherwise known as Pal, was born in Romania in 1860. He moved to England, where he worked under the name Julius Price, before adopting the name Pal. He produced thousands of illustrations and over 100 posters, before leaving for the United States in 1900. After settling in New York, Pal worked primarily as an illustrator, film designer and painter but produced few posters. He died in Florida in 1942.

His work was frequently considered somewhat risque for the times. Scantily attired beautiful young women are often prominently featured in his posters, many of which cover a variety of products -- everything from peach brandy and skin cream to bicycles and automatic copiers. What is distinctive about so much of his work is his bold use of color. Red, purple, blue, gold, green -- all so vivid -- and facial features so clearly drawn and expressive. Such work represents a marked contrast to that of Cheret and Toulouse-Lautrec.