Levels Commercial Arts The History Of Poster Design With Ricky!

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Long ago… in a country far far away... there were no such things as posters Your primary source of information came from this guy The Town Crier Town criers traversed the streets and would stop at crossroads. They would then announce everything from burials, goods and lost objects to Kings proclamations and orders.

The history of posters can be traced as far back as the 15th century, when artisans handmade each and every sheet. While a painstaking process indeed, it ushered in a new age of providing news, announcements, and other information to passers-by on the streets.

FREEDOM OF PRESS & THE RISE OF INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION In 1789, the French revolution caused a virtual explosion in the field of communications. The French began to experience "Freedom of the Press", and all of the newspapers began displaying printed advertisements. The industrial rise of the 19th century ushered in the beginnings of mechanization, which opened a new era in publishing thanks to this guy… Aloysius Senefelder

THE RISE OF THE PRINTING PRESS The art of Lithography was invented by a Czech named Aloysius Senefelder in 1798 in Austria. By 1848, the process had been refined to the point that it was possible to print 10,000 sheets per an hour

THE RISE OF THE PRINTING PRESS Like most print media, graphic arts were dependent on the invention of the printing press. This allowed for the mass production of all shapes and sizes of posters as well. The technique that is used to print posters, is called LITHOGRAPHY This is printing by placing ink on a series of wood or metal ("lithos") raised portions of a carved, etched, or cast block. A very early Printing Press A very early Printing Press

THE RISE OF THE PRINTING PRESS Raised lettering

While Senefelder pioneered the invention of lithography, and certainly many "posters" were created prior to his arrival it is JULES CHERET (shur-a), who deserves to be called "the father of the poster". Born in Paris, Chéret was apprenticed to a printer at age 13. Chéret mastered the art of lithography - refining and simplifying the technique to make it feasible to print large posters in color. Truly the "father" of the color litho poster, he prepared some 1,000 posters between 1858 and the first decade of the 20th century.

Lets have a look at some of Jules Cherets works...

Job Cigarette Papers 1889 Land Of The Fairies Worlds Fair Poster 1889

Ice Skating Advert Pantomime Theatre Advert

Opera AdvertOil Lamp Company Advert

Commercial art and design also owe a great deal of debt to the next two artists… HENRI de TOULOUSE LAUTREC Henry de Tah-loose Luh-Trek ALPHONSE MUCHA Al-Fonz Myoo kuh and

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was born on November 24, 1864, in southern France with a number of ailments which left him very weak. At age 12 he broke his left leg and at 14 his right leg. The bones did not heal properly, and his legs ceased to grow. He reached maturity with a body trunk of normal size but with abnormally short legs. He was only 4 1/2 feet (1.5 meters) tall. Deprived of the physical life that a normal body would have permitted, Toulouse-Lautrec lived completely for his art. He dwelt in the Montemarte section of Paris… the center of the cabaret entertainment and bohemian life that he loved to depict in his work. Toulouse-Lautrec

Bohemian A person with artistic or intellectual tendencies, who lives and acts with no regard for conventional rules of behavior. Although the bohemian population was diverse, one particular aspect of how they lived served as a unifying factor: the rejection of values. The values they typically rejected and how are as follows: They rejected private property and materialism by having no permanent residence anywhere and by surviving on little material wealth. They rejected strict moral values by living carefree lives of alcohol and drug use, as well as open sexual freedom. They rejected the pursuit of wealth by living solely for art and literature's sake, pursuing their passions regardless of whether they gained an income, which they usually did not.

Now you can tell your friends what Queens Bohemian Rhapsody really means… Alternative Rhapsody

Perhaps two of the most popular images of Paris France during the late 1800s had to be this poster titled Ambassadeurs: Aristide Bruant from It depicts a nightclub owner who became famous for insulting his patrons at the door of his cafe. He befriended Lautrec and asked him to create a poster to promote his nightclub. This is said to have very closely captured the owners theatrically smug demeanor perfectly. Toulouse-Lautrec

The second poster is titled Moulin Rouge and perfectly captured the dance halls and nightclubs, racetracks, prostitutes - all of whom were memorialized on canvas or made into lithographs. Toulouse-Lautrec was very much an active part of this community. Next time you watch the TV show Friends look on their wall and youll see a Toulouse Lautrec Poster! Toulouse-Lautrec

Lautrec would sit at a crowded nightclub table, laughing and drinking… and also making swift sketches. The next morning in his studio he would expand the sketches into brightly colored paintings. In order to join in the Montmarte life - as well as to fortify himself against the crowd's ridicule of his appearance - Toulouse-Lautrec began to drink heavily. By the 1890s the drinking was affecting his health. He was confined first to a sanatorium and then to his mother's care at home, but he could not stay away from alcohol. Toulouse- Lautrec died on September 9, 1901, at the family chateau of Malrome. Lautrec was recently portrayed by actor John Leguizamo in the hit film Moulin Rouge. Toulouse-Lautrec

Here are a few of Toulouse-Lautrecs other works

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INTERMISSION Tee Hee! La La La! Intermissions sure are SWELL! Aint they kids! I said, AINT THEY KIDS!

Can I talk to you kids for a minute? Is that o.k.? Is he gone? I asked… is he gone?

Im afraid of Mr. Juul… He makes me give Mr. Pickles foot rubs and they both laught at me... He makes me drink rubber cement! And if I dont? He carefully sets me in an ant pile and walks away all slow… giggling...

He also makes me - OH NO!

Alphonse Mucha was born in the country Bohemia in 1860 and moved to Paris in 1890 where he became the star of the poster-art movement. After World War I he returned to Czechoslovakia and became the father of a slavic arts and crafts movement which combined elements of ART NOUVEAU with classic national themes. Mucha Mucha's In addition to commercial art, jewelry design, interior decoration, sculpture and stage design, Mucha experimented with lettering and calligraphy to produce excellent source material for unique typefaces. Mucha's style is synonymous with French Art Nouveau and he is also one of the most imitated artists and designers of all time.

ART NOUVEAU A design style characterized by organic, symmetrical, wavy, elegant lines and soft, leaf-shaped forms. A very elegant and natural design style Picture FrameStained Glass

Have a look at some of Alphonse Muchas work… Ill bet you recognize the Art Nouveau style... Make sure to look at the book in class The Art Nouveau Style Book Of Alphonse Mucha

Monaco Monte CarloSalon de Cents

The Muse - DanceCycles Perfecta

Alphonse Mucha became one of the most imitated artists of his time. His contributions to the fields of commercial art are extremely important. COPY - Frederick RamsdellCOPY - Paul Berthon

The Turn of The Century By the end of the 1800s, due to success, imitation and boredom, three of the poster mediums most popular artists had either died or turned away from poster design to concentrate on painting… A new revolution in design would soon influence the entire look of the world around us.

COMMENTS? QUESTIONS? LETS SEEWHAT YOU KNOW LETS SEE WHAT YOU KNOW - Town Crier - Alois Senefelder - Jules Cheret Invented Lithographic Printing - Toulouse Lautrec - Alphonse Mucha - Art Nouveau Considered the Father Of The Modern Poster A n often imitated artist who helped make Art Nouveau popular Perhaps two of the most popular images of Paris France during the late 1800s Characterized by organic, symmetrical, wavy, elegant lines and soft, leaf-shaped forms. They would then announce everything from burials, goods & lost objects to Kings proclamations & orders.

FOR MORE INFORMATION... BOOKS The Poster Posters In History The Art Of Alphonse Mucha Talouse Latrec ON THE WEB Check The Class Website Under LINKS, then POSTERS

Aloha!