G. SEM (GEORGES GOURSAT 1863-1934) ALCAZAR D'ETE / PAULUS. 1891. 47 x 33 3/8inches. Chaix, Paris. Condition B: restoration and restored losses in margins, corners and image; repaired tears in image; vertical and horizontal folds; foxing throughout image. Again, although signed by "Sem" this image, very much in the style of posters by Jules Cheret, has no bearing on the caricature-style artwork that characterizes all of Sem's other known works. Here for a performance at the Alcazar d'Eté, Paulus (Jean-Paul Habans, one of the most famous café-concert stars in Paris in the 1880s and 1890s) is depicted purposefully striding across the typography. Unlike many of Cheret's images, though, here the main figure has his feet planted firmly on the ground.
