Théâtre Libre
Playbills and posters were created by leading artists of the day with an un-glamorized, gritty realism that reflected the spirit of the theatre and its repertoire. Among the artists that produced the most memorable works for its plays were Henri-Gabriel Ibels, Édouard Vuillard, Paul Signac, George Auriol, Adolphe Willette, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.There are three chapters of the Théâtre Libre's life. This first is its opening with the first two programs in the spring of 1887 and the full season that followed. Antoine quit his job at the gas company to pursue establishing the Théâtre Libre full-time. The second is from October 1888 to June 1893. During this time, the Théâtre Libre established itself as a prominent theatre company whose subscriptions were robust, produced many plays to general critical acclaim, and was sought out to produce new work. It was during these years that the Théâtre Libre saw some of its work transferring to prominent commercial theatres in Paris such as the Odéon and the Comédie-Française. The theatre's final chapter is marked from November 1893 to its close in 1896. During this time it was evident that the experimental days of the theatre had passed as the style and works produced by the Théâtre Libre were now commercially acceptable and sought after. Due to the amount of debt acquired both on behalf of the theatre and personally, Antoine turned the Théâtre Libre over to Larochelle, a son of an older director/actor who had been eager to join management, for the final two years of the theatre's operation. The last performance at Théâtre Libre was on April 27, 1896.