GEORGES MEUNIER (1869-1942) THEATRE DE L'OPERA / 4e. BAL MASQUE. 1895. 48 1/8x34 5/8 inches. Chaix, Paris. Condition A-: repaired tear in top and bottom margins, affecting image; vertical and horizontal folds. Meunier was the most talented of the young artists who worked under Cheret at the Chaix printing house. He began his career working on commissions that Cheret passed on to him, but soon developed his own following and clientele. In 1894 Cheret designed the poster advertising Paris' yearly masked ball (see Swann auction 1945, lot 23). That image was printed without text and was used, with the appropriate text, for three different balls during that season. The following year Meunier designed the poster for the ball, and his image was re-used four times during the season! These masked balls were the highlights of the Parisian winter season attracting "le tout Paris." In 1895 the balls were based on the Venetian Carnaval, which Meunier makes very clear with his depiction of sumptuous décor that evokes the Grand Canal. Unlike Cheret's symbolic, festive vision, Meunier creates a precise rendering of the stage and the room, which he has filled with colorful costumed revelers. DFP-II 582, Reims, 873.
