EUGENE OGÉ (1869-1936) CIE. FRANÇAISE DES MACHINES A COUDRE. 1898. 51 1/4x37 inches, 130x94 cm. P. Vercasson & Cie., Paris. Condition B+ / A-: repaired tears and minor restored losses in images; minor creases in image. Ogé started his career as a lithographic draughtsman in the Charles Verneau printing plant. In 1894, after several years of anonymous work, he earned the right to sign his name to his art and went on to a long career as a successful commercial artist, designing over two hundred posters. His style was based on humorous and often crude caricatures of naughty children, people of the world in their native costumes, and his favorite device, pillorying royalty and politicians. Here, to advertise a French sewing machine, he depicts Felíx Faure, the President of France, sewing together the French and Russian flags (an image spawned by the Franco-Russian alliance, which was current at that time). Historically, it is interesting to note that it was only in France that the censors allowed artists such political liberties with their art.
