Henri de Toulouse-LautrecDivan Japonais, 1892/93Farblithografie© Sprengel Museum Hannover
Around 1900, the poster was not only established as an effective advertising medium, it was also widely recognized as a new art form. The founding of numerous societies for poster art attests to the rampant “affichomanie” or “poster frenzy” of the time. Artists created posters to advertise any imaginable product: from coffee, tobacco, and automobiles to exhibitions, journals, and cabaret performances. To be effective amid the visual noise of city streets, posters needed to capture the gaze from a distance and convey their meaning at a glance. The best-known master of this art was presumably Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who took inspiration from Japanese woodcuts as well as artist such as Edgar Degas and Édouard Manet to render his motifs to great effect, with bold lines, cropped views, and unusual perspectives.
