The exhibition of the masters of the poster, which is currently experiencing a great turnout at the Fine Arts Museum in Quimper (Finistère), was born out of a collaboration with the Belgian city of Ixelles. Indeed, the museum of this one has an extraordinary collection of posters, in particular an unpublished series carried out by Toulouse Lautrec, and dating from the end of the XIXth century. Thanks to this loan, Quimper can be proud, for one summer, of plunging into the Belle Époque.
From La Goulue to Aristide Bruand
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, the darling of the Parisian district of Montmartre, is undoubtedly the precursor artist in terms of posters and the most famous. We all remember the famous “Goulue”, French-cancan dancer at the Moulin Rouge, scandalous muse of the painter and poster designer. In this exhibition, you can also find posters representing Aristide Bruant, a famous cabaret singer of the time, recognizable by his red scarf, others announcing cabaret programs or extolling the merits of Sarah Bernhardt rice powder…
Posters were certainly a new artistic movement, but they also contributed to the emergence of advertising. A whole new current of expression, of graphic art, which has imposed itself and developed over the centuries. Toulouse-Lautrec was not the only one to contribute to the development of this new art combining graphic creation and the dissemination of a message. The Quimper museum also exhibits posters by Jules Chéret, Théophile Steinlen, Alfons Mucha, Henri-Gabriel Ibels, Georges de Feure, who all excelled in the same artistic discipline.
Attendance doubled
In July, the Quimper museum saw its attendance double compared to last year. It was 15,500 visitors in the summer of 2022 and 14,000 people for the month of July 2023 alone. For the museum’s chief curator, Guillaume Ambroise, the weather was certainly an important factor, but people’s enthusiasm for this new, original exhibition, like the cheeky artists of the time, cabarets and dancers, is obvious. The Belle Époque has always been a dream.
In parallel with the exhibition, the museum offers activities linked to the Belle Époque, in particular an introduction to the French-cancan by the company Y’a un trou dans l’mur on September 16, guided tours, fun workshops for young people audience…
Practical information: Museum of Fine Arts, 40, place Saint-Corentin. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in July and August. Free admission. Information and reservations at 02.98.95.45.20.
2023-08-22 06:00:56
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