?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000
THÉOPHILE-ALEXANDRE STEINLIN (1859-1923) MOTHU ET DORIA. 1893. 50 7/8x36 1/2 inchesm, 129x93 cm. Impressions Artistiques, Paris. Condition B: repaired tears, creases, staining and foxing in margins and image; vertical and horizontal folds. Born in Switzerland, Steinlen moved to Paris in 1882 and settled in Montmartre, where he quickly joined the Chat Noir circle, providing illustrations for many magazines. Anatole France called him "the master of the street" and deemed his work "epic," as his illustrations, born from his personal Socialistic and humanistic sympathies, found inspiration in the everyday life and miseries of Paris' proletarian communities. By 1893, Steinlen had "produced [this] his first important poster . . . a successful experiment in clarity of composition and simplicity of form. Mothu and Doria were performers who often sang the repertoire of Albert Pajol, a lyricist and publisher who commissioned the poster and four sheet music covers from Steinlen." (Steinlen p. 115). Their "scénes impressionnistes" were something akin to impersonations or tableaux. Among the roles they adopted and the characters they portrayed was this duo of a shabby drifter and an aristocrat. Under Steinlen's masterful guidance, this scene, ostensibly of one man lighting his cigarette from another's, becomes infused with mystery, suspense and perhaps even menace. This is the variation printed in yellow, red and black. Bargiel 12 - A3, Steinlen 88 (var), Crauzat 490 (var), DFP-II 780 (var), Maitres 46 (var).
