Katie Butler: Before he burgeoned into the advertisement titan in adulthood, Jules Cheret lived off of commissions from local theaters and other organizations. By the time he was eighteen, however, he received the opportunity to work with perfume engineer Eugene Rimmel to design advertisements and business cards. This was massive for Cheret, who would eventually…
Katie Butler: By the middle of the nineteenth century, Jules Cheret was a household name thanks to his distinct take on lithographs. Before Cheret reformed the technique of posters being tediously copied with austere and dull colors, this artist reinvented the wheel by painting directly onto stone with vibrant colors. One of his poster commissions…
Katie Butler: In the midst of the nineteenth century, cultures around the world were resetting on nearly every level. In America, at the cusp of events such as the Mexican- American War, the Civil War, the festering of the use of slavery, and the transition of the American mentality from Romantic ideals to Transcendentalism, almost…
When examining the 1842 publication of Ancient Spanish Ballads: Historical and Romantic by John Gibson Lockhart, my first visual impressions were an appreciation for the ornate details. As could be seen immediately by the cover page, much thought, effort, and material had gone into printing such incredible work. The sheer amount of color, as well…