Jules Chéret (1836-1932), Woman Playing The Mandolin, Study In Black Chalk, C. 1895

Jules Chéret (1836-1932) is a successful author of advertising posters for commercial brands but also for literary, musical or theatrical works, in particular between 1866 and 1895.
He also became known, after 1890, for his monumental decorations. private residences and public buildings, such as the living room of the Hôtel de Ville in Paris or the village hall of the Prefecture of Nice or the stage curtain of the theater of the Grévin museum.
This painter, lithographer and poster artist with an alert drawing and lively style can be considered as the "father of the modern poster".

Woman playing the mandolin, c. 1895 Study in black chalk on gray blue paper, signed lower right : Chéret.
Our drawing, full of gaiety and spontaneity, is reminiscent of a motif belonging to one of his large decorative compositions, such as those for which a pastel project is kept at the Musée d'Orsay, Fête de nuit, 1893, representing a frenzied round of musicians and dancers.