Lucien Métivet

Eugénie Buffet (Ambassadeurs) - Lithograph (Les Maîtres de l'Affiche), 1895

1895

Jules Chéret Lidia (Alcazar d'été), 1895 Stone ithograph Printed signature in the plate On vellum Size 39 x 29 cm (c. 15.3 x 11.4") INFORMATION : Plate 25 of "Les Maîtres de...

Henri PRIVAT-LIVEMONT (1861-1936) Art Nouveau Muse, 1900 Original lithograph Printed signature in the plate On vellum Size 39 x 29 cm (c. 15.3 x 11.4") INFORMATION : Plate 212 of ...

Eugénie Buffet was a French singer, actress, and pioneer of the chanson réaliste (realist song) genre, which portrayed the day to day lives of the poor and working-class in Paris. Métivet’s Ambassadeurs poster depicts Buffet as a prostitute working on the cold, windy streets of Paris; Buffet describes following working women to effectively reflect their demeanor in her roles, “Huddled in the shadow of dark alleys, I espied their beckoning calls to passersby, followed them from afar, scraping invisibly along the walls, listened to their words in the doorways of seedy hotels; sometimes, even, made up and dressed like them, I would slip among them, sitting at tables in their dives, and join in the conversation” (Buffet, 1930 via Conway, 2004). Her name, much like that of fellow performer Aristide Bruant, was further solidified in history by their likenesses in iconic and historically important artworks by Métivet’s and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. “Métivet’s talent is seen at its best in the Eugénie Buffet advertisements, two studies worthy a place amongst the best posters which have come from the hands of contemporary French artists” (Hiatt, 1896). This artwork is presented in archival rag mat and arrives accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Notable museum collections containing this work include: Yale University Art Gallery (large-format version) (1969.3.3) Notable museum collections featuring works by Lucien...

Henri Meunier’s Gonthier-Meymans lithographic poster, published by Verlag von Gerhard Kühtmann in Dresden, 1897. While this poster was printed in multiple sizes and formats, this edi...