JULES CHERET (1836-1932) [LOIE FULLER.] 25 1/4x18 3/4 inches. Condition A: Oil on canvas. Framed. Jules Cheret was a multi-talented artist. His posters arose from a combination of his skill as a draughtsman and his mastery of composition and colors. His artistic legacy not only includes over one thousand posters, but also sketches, pastels and oil paintings. For all of his many talents, and in spite of his well deserved epithet "The Father of the Modern Poster," he was never able to fully master portraiture. His attempt to depict Yvette Guilbert and Louise Balthy (see lot 16), for example, are far from accurate portraits of the performers. This painting is exceptional in his oeuvre because he perfectly captures the likeness of Loïe Fuller. Famed not only for her dances with illuminated scarves, Fuller was easily recognizable by her chubby face and Rubenesque proportions. That he depicted her in oil also makes the image stand out, as he most often used pastels. Cheret was not the only artist to be obsessed by Loïe Fuller (his friend Rodin, for example was another). Although already in his 60s, Cheret's inspiration might well have derived from desire. The result is a spectacular image, in which the dancer's nude body is illuminated (and shaded) by the very lights that were the heart and soul of her show. Filled with movement and vivid colors, it is a proto-Fauvist image.
![JULES CHERET (1836-1932) [LOIE FULLER.] 25x18 inches.](https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/full//822\583822.jpg)
