ALFRED CHOUBRAC (1853-1902) AMBASSADEURS / E. FOUGERE.

47x31 1/2 inches. Columbes, Siene.
Condition B+: restored losses along vertical and horizontal folds; restoration in margins.
During the 1870s, the Choubrac brothers were Jules Cheret's only real competitors in the poster design world of Paris. Although Leon, who often signed his works "Hope," died very young (1847-1885), his younger brother went on to provide a prodigious number of posters for Parisian entertainers, businesses and various products. Ernest Maindron, in Les Affiches Illustrees, praises Choubrac's bold line, sense of composition and highly decorative skills. And while Choubrac does not possess the same grace and skill as Cheret when it comes to blending colors, in his own very recognizable style he creates efficient, well drawn and clever posters. Eugenie Fougere had a long career spanning the Parisian café-concerts and early music halls. Here she is depicted as a sexy incarnation of a spider, attracting and catching men in her web.