ALFRED CHOUBRAC (1853-1902) EXPOSITION RUSSE / HIPPIQUE ET ETHNOGRAPHIQUE. 1895. 47 3/8x31 1/2 inches. G. Massias, Paris. Condition A-: minor abrasions in image. In 1892, France and Russia entered into the Franco-Russian Alliance, a move that strengthened their position against Germany. As a result, relations between the two countries dramatically improved. In France, many events were organized to honor Russians and Russian culture, a program that culminated with the Tzar's visit to Paris in 1897. This exhibition presented a folkloric vision of the Russian Empire and the poster depicts Cossack riders, a romantic depiction of the warriors with whose story the French had become enamored. Alfred Choubrac, along with his brother Leon, was one of the pioneers of color lithography in France. The brothers were practically the sole competitors of Jules Cheret in the 1870s and early 1880s. After Leon's premature death in 1885 we know that Alfred became director of the large Parisian printing house Appel. However, as we learn here, at some point he also ran his own studio and worked with the printer Massias.
