Jules Cheret and Cherettes

After watching the documentary in class about Art Nouveau, I became really interested in the influence and works of Jules Cheret. Cheret was born in Paris, France in 1836. Cheret received little to no education. At the age of 13, Cheret began a 3-year apprenticeship under a lithographer.  During 1859-1866, he trained in London. It was there Cheret became interested in British poster design. Cheret was greatly interested in the vivid imagery of Rococo artists like Antoine Watteau and Jean- Honore Fragonard. Cheret perfected the use of single central imagery in his poster compositions and became a major force in advertising. He was commissioned to do several poster ads for cabarets, music halls and theatres. Cheret embraced the female form in a way that hadn’t been done before, the women depicted in the posters were joyous, lively and flamboyant. They adopted the name ‘Cherettes’ and became the most recognizable imagery in Paris during the movement. 

http://www.erinedwardsdesigns.com/dev_post/f1_d1.html            

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-artists/jules-cheret.htm