Artist: Jules Cheret French (1836-1932)
Title: Olympia
Plate: PL.133
Original lithograph from "Les Maitres de L'Affiche" series.
Printed by Imprimerie Chaix, Paris, 1898
Reference: (all var): Broido, 346; Maindron 1896, 278; Maitres, 133; DFP-II, 225; Folies Bergère, 28; Gold, 146; PAI-LXXXII, 242
Presented in 16 x 20 in. acid free, archival museum mat, with framing labels. Ready to frame. Shipped boxed flat via Fedex.
Certificate of Authenticity.
Maitre Sheet Size: 11 3/8 in x 15 3/4 in 29 cm x 40 cm
Price: $550.00 Rare
Full size sold for $ 6,900 US Poster Auctions International, N.Y. Nov. 2004.
"With eclat and elan, to say nothing of a pair of cymbals, the ebullient, unabashedly hedonistic sprite calls us to the Olympia to enjoy the 'Russian Mountains' (Montagnes Russes). The French term for the rollercoaster. The Poster was used for the opening of this new establishment...It was one of the first places in Paris that called itself a 'music-hall,' borrowing a word from British show business. There was a bumpy ride as an added attraction to the usual stage spectacles, but to call it a rollercoaster was probably somewhat euphemistic"(Rennert PAI-XXV, 245)
"The Olympia opened in Paris in April of 1893…From the start it exploited feminine allure for all it was worth. Whatever its various revues were called, they always featured beautiful girls in revealing costumes. A full 15 years before Florenz Ziegfeld thought of glorifying the American girl, the display of sex appeal on stage was in full swing in Paris" (Gold p.112)