| Absinthe Posters IX - Chromolithographic Cartons |
| Designed to hang indoors, these smaller format chromolithographic posters, usually backed onto board, have a charm all their own. The most famous is the Charles Maire painting for Pernod Fils, but perhaps the most graphically striking is the 1894 Terminus calender. |
Based on a painting by Charles Maire (1845
- 1919), this ubiquitous print advertising
Pernod Fils once hung in almost every bar
and cafe in France.
Unusually, the chromolithograph was
backed on to canvas, and then varnished,
giving it the appearance of an original oil,
enhanced by the custom gilt-wood frame.
Both Picasso and Braque were inspired by
this image, using it as the basis of some of
the very earliest Cubist paintings.
- 1919), this ubiquitous print advertising
Pernod Fils once hung in almost every bar
and cafe in France.
Unusually, the chromolithograph was
backed on to canvas, and then varnished,
giving it the appearance of an original oil,
enhanced by the custom gilt-wood frame.
Both Picasso and Braque were inspired by
this image, using it as the basis of some of
the very earliest Cubist paintings.
At left, Picasso's
1912 "Bouteille de
Pernod et verre".
1912 "Bouteille de
Pernod et verre".
| In a 1959 interview published in Paris Match, the French poet and artist Jean Cocteau talked about his friendship with Picasso, and his visits to the artist's studio. He described how a copy of this Pernod Fils chromolithograph had hung in Picasso's studio during the time he was creating his early cubist masterpieces, and how Picasso had later given it to him as a souvenir. This is not the only absinthe item that acted as inspiration for Picasso's art - click here to read about the genesis of Picasso's celebrated 1914 sculpture "Verre d'Absinthe" |
The so-called
"Pontarlier" style
reservoir glasses
take their name from
their appearance in
this picture.
"Pontarlier" style
reservoir glasses
take their name from
their appearance in
this picture.
Several rival manufacturers reworked Pernod's
ubiquitous design to feature their own products.
The most successful of these spin-offs was this
charming image designed by the Mourgue brothers for
Absinthe Bourgeois, a mid-sized Pontarlier producer.
The absinthe loving black cat became the symbol of
the company, and was produced in several carton and
poster formats, and also as a series of postcards.
This carton, still in it's original art nouveau style frame,
shows what is believed to the earliest version of the
design.
Click on the image to enlarge.
ubiquitous design to feature their own products.
The most successful of these spin-offs was this
charming image designed by the Mourgue brothers for
Absinthe Bourgeois, a mid-sized Pontarlier producer.
The absinthe loving black cat became the symbol of
the company, and was produced in several carton and
poster formats, and also as a series of postcards.
This carton, still in it's original art nouveau style frame,
shows what is believed to the earliest version of the
design.
Click on the image to enlarge.
Click here to buy a reproduction print of this image.
The Absinthe Bourgeois label
assured consumers not only that
it was made entirely from herbal
matter (ie, without artificial
colouring), but also that it was
"sans badiane" - made with
green anise only, not star anise.
Click on the image to enlarge.
assured consumers not only that
it was made entirely from herbal
matter (ie, without artificial
colouring), but also that it was
"sans badiane" - made with
green anise only, not star anise.
Click on the image to enlarge.
An 1894 calender advertising Absinthe
Terminus. The gentleman in the red jacket is
the Absinthe Terminus drinker, his friend in
the black is drinking "Absinthe Ordinaire"!
Terminus. The gentleman in the red jacket is
the Absinthe Terminus drinker, his friend in
the black is drinking "Absinthe Ordinaire"!
Click here to buy a reproduction print of this image.
| A smaller format version of Cappiello's famous poster for Absinthe Ducros. |
| Advertising carton for Absinthe Barth & Cie, based in Châlon-sur-Saône. 43 x 31cm. Click on the image to enlarge. |
| Click here to buy reproduction prints of these images. |
Click here to buy a reproduction
print of this image.
print of this image.
| Chromolithographic advertising cartons for Cousin Florentin, Dornier-Tuller and Lemercier-Duval. Click on thumbnails to see larger images. |
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