?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 12,000 - $ 18,000
THÉOPHILE-ALEXANDRE STEINLEN (1859-1923)
LAIT PUR STÉRILISÉ. 1894.
56x39 1/2 inches, 142 1/4x100 1/4 cm. Charles Verneau, Paris. Condition A-: minor repaired tears, abrasions and restoration at edges and along vertical and horizontal folds; minor staining at left edge; small pin holes in corners; offsetting in reds. Mounted on Japan.
Lait Pur Stérilisé is the first poster Charles Verneau printed for Steinlen. It was only the second poster in Steinlen's "mature style" (Arwas, p. 54). The artist and the printer formed a lasting relationship and went on to produce some of the era's most memorable posters. This poster instantly became a success and remains an iconic image of the period; it is 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 curvilinearity" (Cates & Gill p. 122). Steinlen used green for the outline, as opposed to black, which adds to the soft feel of the image. Crauzat p. 134, Reims 1030, Bargiel / Zagrodzki p. 40, Maitres 1900 p. 54, Gold 56, Maitres pl. 95, Wine Spectator pl. 112, Meisterplakate 208, Art Nouveau p. 128, DFP-I 783, Weill 43.
