THÉOPHILE-ALEXANDRE STEINLEN (1859-1923) LAIT PUR STÉRILISÉ. 1894. 52 1/2x37 inches, 134x94 cm. Charles Verneau. Condition B+: repaired tears and creases in margins and image; restoration and overpainting along vertical and horizontal folds. Matted and framed. Steinlen was an excellent draughtsman, and when he teamed up with Charles Verneau he found a printer and a partner with whom he would produce some of the best posters ever printed. In fact, the first poster Verneau printed for Steinlen, which was only the artist's second poster in his "mature style" (Arwas p. 54) , Lait Pur Sterilise, instantly became a success and has remained an iconic image of the period." The poster established Steinlen as a masterful illustrator of cats" (Cate & Gill p. 116). He adored cats and his daughter, both of whom appear in his most charming posters. The image is almost deceptively simple, featuring the artist's daughter, Colette, sitting at a table sipping from a bowl of milk, with three cats at her feet hoping for a single spilled drop. It is a delicate image, beautifully drawn on stone with a "flowing curvilinearality" (Cate & Gill p. 122). For the drawing, Steinlen used green rather than black for outlining which added to the soft feel. The image was so popular that it was reprinted the following year under the auspices of Bella, the London collector, for Nestle's Swiss Milk. Crauzat p. 134, Bargiel & Zagrodski p. 40, Maitres 1900 p. 54. Maitres pl. 95, Wine Spectator 112.
