Year: 1891
Size: each 32 7/8 x 48 3/8 inches
Condition: B+ / recreated borders; slight tears.
Maindron makes it clear that it was Chéret who invented “placards décoratifs, which are neither prints nor posters, but which contain a bit of both... There is nothing to say about these designs other than that they are perfect” (Maindron, p. 178-79). Abdy calls these four decorative panels “triumphs of color and printing” (Abdy, p. 31). Being freed from having to sell a product, Chéret lets his imagination soar—and these light-footed nymphs representing the Four Arts are the first clear examples of what was to adorn the walls of Paris for the next decade: the unabashedly hedonistic, carefree spirits that became known as “Chérettes.” (4)
