PAUL BERTHON (1872-1909) FOLIES BERGERE / LIANE DE POUGY. 1896.

58 1/2x23 inches. Lemercier, Paris.
Condition B+: restoration along vertical and horizontal folds. Framed.
This rare masterpiece of the French Art Nouveau movement was designed for Liane du Pougy's first appearance at the famed Folies Bergere. The act, written by her friend and decadent author Jean Lorain, was called l'araignee d'or - "The Golden Spider." One of Paris' great courtesans, she charmed the common man and nobility alike with her beauty (and open bisexuality). Paul Berthon, who was only 24 years old when he designed this poster, is clearly sticking strictly to the artistic rules he learned from his master, Eugene Grasset. From the typography arrayed at the top and the bottom, the performer clad in a pre-Raphaelite robe, with the flowers and the hunting horn, sword and shield at her feet, to the bold, bright coloring, the work could be straight from Grasset's hand itself. It differs dramatically from the soft, pastel toned images that Berthon's work would become. Folies Bergere p. 24, Reims 230.