Le Grand Siècle de l’Affiche · Les Maîtres de l’Affiche
Maîtres de l'Affiche, Vol. 2, Plate 74 — Carlos Schwabe
Carlos Schwabe · Les Maîtres de l'Affiche, vol. 2 (Imprimerie Chaix, Paris), 1895
What it is
A colour lithograph by Carlos Schwabe, issued in 1895 as plate 74 in the second volume of Les Maîtres de l'Affiche, the Paris series printed by the Imprimerie Chaix.
Why it matters
Les Maîtres de l'Affiche was Jules Chéret's monthly subscription series of small-format reproductions gathering the best of the poster boom for collectors. Schwabe reached the medium from Symbolist painting and illustration, and he carried its cooler, more linear and allegorical temperament into a form built for shouting across a street. The plate marks the moment the poster became a thing worth keeping rather than pasting over.
What to notice
Look for the disciplined, drawn line and allegorical register — a restrained hand where the series more often runs on loose chromatic bravura.
The dream, printed at commercial speed.
Provenance
- School
- Belle Époque — the Affiche (France)
- Designer
- Carlos Schwabe
- Printer / house
- Imprimerie Chaix
- Format
- Advertising poster
- Poster published
- Les Maîtres de l'Affiche, vol. 2 (Imprimerie Chaix, Paris), 1895
- Source
- Bibliothèque nationale de France (Gallica)
Rights: CLEAR. Public domain — U.S. 95-year rule (published 1930 or earlier). Gated by the poster’s own publication year. Cleared by registry on 2026-07-18.
Format
The full-resolution, color-managed file — restored honestly, yours to print and keep.
Sized to protect print quality — this scan supports sizes up to 27x41" cleanly.
Size
$29.00
.jpg)
%2C%201896%2C%20NGA%20166147.jpg)
