Le Chat Noir Original Poster

Le Chat Noir, Cabaret poster is one of the most iconic art nouveau advertisements of all time, French for "The Black Cat" which was a nineteenth-century entertainment establishment, in the bohemian Montmartre district of Paris. It opened on 18 November 1881 at 84 Boulevard Rochechouart by the impresario Rodolphe Salis, and closed in 1897 not long after Salis' death. Le Chat Noir is thought to be the first modern cabaret: a nightclub where the patrons sat at tables and drank alcoholic beverages while being entertained by a variety show on stage The artist : Theophile Alexandre Steinlen (1859 – 1923) was a Swiss-born French Art Nouveau painter and printmaker who moved to Paris’ bohemian Montmartre section in 1883 artist whose posters of cabarets and music hall performers were infused with a warm, intimate style. Initially employed as a textile printer, Steinlen became immersed in the avant-garde world of the Chat Noir Café. In Paris, he created over 400 Art Nouveau illustrations for local magazines, as well as advertisements and stylised nightclub posters, which often featured the cats that he loved. Steinlen also drew genre scenes of the working class, which depicted everyday Parisian life in a style that was technically proficient and also exhibited great sensitivity towards his subjects.