Albert Guillaume - Poster Art

Poster Art

Guillaume thrived during the international poster mania of the Gay Nineties. During this period, a collection of notable artists helped transform the boulevards of Paris into a gallery of fine art. Toulouse-Lautrec set the stage in 1891 with his famous poster, Moulin Rouge. Other fine art posters followed and the streets came alive with color. Posters soon appeared from many of the era's great masters. Artists such as Chéret, Livemont, Hermann-Paul and Mucha helped shape the Parisian landscape.

Jules Chéret is often called the "father of the modern poster." From 1895 until 1900, he collaborated with the era's great poster artists to produce a series of smaller works suitable for collectors. For six years, Chéret and his collaborators painstakingly reproduced four posters a month. The series was a smashing success. The "Masters of Posters" collection included many works by Guillaume and it was through this series that he became known to a wider audience. The collection remains popular to this day.