Evening star., 1896-02-29

being ashamed to produce advertising
posters, they delighted in it, until today
the fashion is SO well established and the
advertising poster has so profoundly en-
tered the domain of art that there is no
longer young painter to disdain it,
Cheret, Grasset. Boutet. Bac. Caran
Ibels. Lautrec Lunel, Pal. Roedel, Stein
len and Willette are only the best known
and most meritorious. They do not repre-
sent numerically tenth of the young
French artists engaged in beautifyiug the
Paris streets.
The difference between these French
posters and the new school English is
analogous to the difference between the
English woman and the French in their
outward ways and looks and style of dress
ing. Not only is the drawing of the French
more delicate and witty, it is also stronger
and more living. In coloring. where the
English are content to get their effects
from fiat tones Of red and black or yellow
and black on white, the French burst on
the public with Kaleidoscope of shade
on shade and daring contrasts. Undoubt-
edly the central idea of the Paris pictorial
poster is to appeal to the Partisan adora-
ton of femininity. No Paris poster is
without its enigmatically smiling, squirm-
ing lady, very frou-frou very chic and
very generous in the display of her pink
skin and her white lingerie.
In Paris they make learned disquisitions
on the woman of Cheret. of Grasset of
Willette. of Toulouse -Lautrec of SteinIen
and of Guilla,lme, after the style of our ap-
precautions of the Gibson girl" at home.
From the point Of view of the advertiser
III scarcely pays to put UP anything but
artistic posters in Paris 1t must be re-
nlembered. however. that the French have
never been as ''enterprising'' as English
and Americans. Advertising has never
threatened to become an absolute nuisance
on the landscape. Another thing that
has helped to save the public is the un-
literary character of French advertising
The central idea is announcement, Tot de-
scrlptlon. argument, testimony. French
tourists in England and America stand
aghast at the number OF advertisements
composed wholly of text
But who stops 10 read them?"
Even when the posters have a symbol I
have neared it complained that-"they add
a mass of descriptive text, presumably for
the benefit of the blind" The French car
ry their advertising symbolism so far that
often the character of the article, its price
and object are omitted to be stated.
Olympia-the old Russian mountains
Boulevarde des Capucines." The delightful
lady, costumed like ballet-dancer or a
fairy at a masked ball, is beating golden
cymbals You guess that the Olympia Is a
place of amusement.
1t would be difficult to speak at length
OF artistic posters in Germany. because
they scarcely exist. Nevertheless Germany
possesses artists who certainly, if the oc-
casion were offered them. would know how
TO brighten the streets of their cities with
original and artistic posters. A certain
Herr Sattler recently designed for the
Pan Society a little affiche full of the
beauty, Eumor and originality of Arnold
BCecklln, a German-SWiSS artist by the
way, whom it is worth every ones while
to keep in view. Herr Franz Stuck is the
designer of some fine beer announcements.
and his Head" for the Secession Salon of
Munich. though not at all in the style of
the modern affiche. but rather resembling a
gigantic postage stamp, shows the possess
sion of great talent as an ornamentor. The
directors of several German museums, in
particular Herr Schricker of the Stras-