230 1/2 x 95 1/4 in./585.5 x 242 cm
Affiches Camis, Paris
When L’Estampe et l’Affiche asked Jossot about his approach to creating Saupiquet Sardines, he explained: “The poster on the wall must howl, it has to force itself on the glance of the passer-by. I have to say without self-conceit that I have done an immense advertisement for the house of Saupiquet, doing as much with my noisy colors as with my grotesque drawing pushed almost to the monstrous” (Célébrités, p. 202). Curiously he didn’t speak about the celebrities he represented in the rather unflattering process of eating their sardines straight from the can with their hands. This illustrious panel includes—from left to right—Sidi-Ali Bey (notorious politico Doctor Grenier after his conversion to Islam), Yvette Guilbert, journalist and politician Henri Rochefort, Sarah Bernhardt, and Aristide Bruant. And as Jossot said, this poster is indeed immense, measuring six sheets and 19 feet wide.
