![Au joyeux moulin rouge Choubrac-1896](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Au_joyeux_moulin_rouge_Choubrac-1896.jpg)
Alfred Choubrac (Paris, 30 December 1853 – Paris, 25 July 1902) was a French painter, illustrator, draughtsman,
poster artist and costume designer. Together with
Jules Chéret
Jules Chéret (31 May 1836 – 23 September 1932) was a French painter and lithographer who became a master of ''Belle Époque'' poster art. He has been called the father of the modern poster.
Early life and career
Born in Paris to a poor but ...
he is considered to be one of the pioneers of the modern coloured and illustrated poster of the
Belle Époque in France, in particular in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
.
Early life
Alfred Choubrac was born in
Montmartre
Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...
(
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
).
[Nécrologie]
''Le Radical'', 28 July 1902[ Martin, ]
Nos peintres et sculpteurs, graveurs, dessinateurs
', p. 105 With his elder brother
Léon Choubrac (1847–1885), Alfred was trained as a classical artist at the
École des Beaux Arts
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Savoi ...
by the painters
Charles Doërr and
Isidore Pils
Isidore-Alexandre-Augustin Pils (1815–1875) was a French academic painter of religious and military subjects.
Biography
Pils was born in Paris as the son of a soldier François Pils. At the age of twelve, he studied with Guillaume Guillon-Le ...
.
[ Beraldi, ''Les graveurs du 19e siècle'']
p.17
/ref> The Choubrac brothers began making posters very early in their career; from 1875, they applied modern colour and typographic techniques, combined with graphics, using chromolithography
Chromolithography is a method for making multi-colour prints. This type of colour printing stemmed from the process of lithography, and includes all types of lithography that are printed in colour. When chromolithography is used to reproduce ph ...
.
In the early 1870s, the Choubrac brothers and Jules Chéret
Jules Chéret (31 May 1836 – 23 September 1932) was a French painter and lithographer who became a master of ''Belle Époque'' poster art. He has been called the father of the modern poster.
Early life and career
Born in Paris to a poor but ...
(known as "the father of the modern poster") reduced the cost of colour lithography introducing technical advances. Additionally, in 1881 restrictions on bill-posting (''affichage'') were lifted and eased state control of the media in France.[Verhagen, ''The poster in Fin-de-Siècle Paris'']
p. 107
/ref>[Carter, Karen L. (2010). ]
Unfit for public display: female sexuality and the censorship of fin‐de‐siècle publicity posters
', Early Popular Visual Culture, 8:2, 107-124 In 1884, the Paris city council started to rent out space belonging to the municipality, paving the way for a rapid increase in the production and distribution of advertising posters. Posters with clear colours and dashing images appeared all over town during the vibrant spirit of the Belle Époque.[
]
''Ateliers Choubrac''
The Choubracs worked mainly with the printing company F. Appel. Later, Léon and Alfred created the ''Ateliers Choubrac'', one of the first graphic design agencies in Paris, originally hosted by the printing press G. Massias at the 17 passage Daudin, using a lithographic press. Around 1898, the name of the Atelier was associated with the name of ''Imprimerie Bourgerie & Cie'', at 83 rue du Faubourg, St Denis in Paris.[Ateliers Choubrac]
Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF) Although his brother Leon died young, Alfred went on to produce an impressive number of posters for Parisian entertainers, theatres, businesses and various commercial products.[Maindron, ''Les affiches Illustrées (1886-1895)'', p. 51-55][Hiatt, ''Picture Posters'']
Chapter 5
/ref>
Alfred Choubrac specialized in posters for shows in the Parisian night-life scene of the Belle Époque, for theatres such as the ''Théâtre des Variétés
The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1974.
History
It owes its creation to the theatre director Mademoiselle ...
'', ''Théâtre du Châtelet
The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.
One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...
'', ''Folies Bergère
The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall, located in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the architect Plumeret. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trév ...
'', ''Opéra comique'', ''Moulin rouge
Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche.
In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Ol ...
'', ''Casino de Paris
The Casino de Paris, located at 16, rue de Clichy, in the 9th arrondissement, is one of the well known music halls of Paris, with a history dating back to the 18th century. Contrary to what the name might suggest, it is a performance venue, not ...
'', the ''Eldorado'', the '' Circus Fernando''.[Alfred Choubrac (1853-1902)]
Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF) Along with Chéret and Toulouse-Lautrec
Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in the l ...
, amongst others, Choubrac was among the most important poster artist of his time.[Verhagen, ''The poster in Fin-de-Siècle Paris'']
p. 109
/ref> His most famous poster is ''Au Joyeux Moulin Rouge'' to promote the famous nightclub.
Censored
The 1880s and 1890s were an intermediary period in the development of the poster in which its primary political function shifted to a primarily promotional one as advertising in the emerging consumer economy, often, if not primarily, through the commoditisation of female sexuality.[ In April 1891, under orders from the Minister of the Interior, the prefect of Paris, Henri-Auguste Lozé, seized and destroyed hundreds of posters considered to be a violation of public decency. Many artists and their printers were charged. Several of Choubrac's posters were prohibited and he was brought to court along with the printers.][Les affiches obscènes]
'' La Presse'', 9 May 1891
One of the censored posters advertised the performance of the dancer Ilka de Mynn at the ''Folies Bergère'', who was depicted in a maillot (body stocking), which, according to the court that charged Choubrac was a cause for concern because the model appeared to be nude.[ Another poster was an advertisement for the French magazine ''Fin de Siècle'', which showed a scarcely dressed female dancer.][ Rapazzini, ''Le Moulin Rouge en folies'']
p. 86
/ref> In an interview with '' La Presse'', Choubrac said he was astonished by the upheaval, claiming that "nudity is exposed everywhere and in much more provocative ways; and I frankly confess that I do not see where the evil was, I sought to make a work of art and nothing more."[L'affiche artistique]
''La Presse'', 12 April 1891
Image:Luka_de_Mynn_-_Choubrac.jpg, Ilka de Mynn at the ''Folies-Bergère'', 1891
Image:Choubrac_1891_poster_censored.jpg, Censored poster for the French magazine ''Fin de Siècle'', 1891
Image:Choubrac_1891_poster_uncensored.jpg, Uncensored poster for the French magazine ''Fin de Siècle'', 1891
Image:Journal_Fin_de_Siècle_poster_Choubrac.png, Second version for ''Fin de Siècle'' (after censored poster), 1891
Other work and exhibitions
In later life he became also known for his designs of stage costumes for the theatre.[Gutsche-Miller, Sarah (2010). ]
Pantomime-Ballet on the Music-Hall Stage: The Popularisation of Classical Ballet in Fin-de-Siècle Paris
', Thesis, Schulich School of Music McGill University Choubrac illustrated several books of the novelist Emile Zola
Emil or Emile may refer to:
Literature
*'' Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
* ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life
*'' Emil and the Detecti ...
.[ Beraldi, ''Les graveurs du 19e siècle'']
p.17
/ref> He produced a number of posters for bookstores to promote popular works. He also produced commercial posters for brands such as the Muscovite Digestive, Humber Cycles
Humber is an English brand of bicycle. Thomas Humber made himself a velocipede in 1868. From that time he built a substantial business in manufacturing tricycles and bicycles while continuously improving their design and construction. His produc ...
, Beeston Tire, Naigeon Gold Water, Unbreakable Baleinine Corsets, Mokatine, Decauville Cycles, Burgeatine Liqueur, and the Hippodrome of Saint-Ponchon, among others.
As an illustrator, he sometimes collaborated with his brother Léon in ''Gil Blas
''Gil Blas'' (french: L'Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane ) is a picaresque novel by Alain-René Lesage published between 1715 and 1735. It was highly popular, and was translated several times into English, most notably as The Adventures of G ...
'' or the satirical weekly '' Le Courrier français'', among others. The first poster exhibition in France occurred in 1884 in the ''Passage Vivienne'' in Paris and included American as well as French posters with specific representation of the work of Cheret and the two Choubrac brothers.[The Color Revolution: Color Lithography in France, 1890-1900](_blank)
/ref> The New York Grolier Club
The Grolier Club is a private club and society of bibliophiles in New York City. Founded in January 1884, it is the oldest existing bibliophilic club in North America. The club is named after Jean Grolier de Servières, Viscount d'Aguisy, Tre ...
in November 1890 organised an exhibition of prints of the "masters in the newest art", that of bill posting, including Choubrac, Chéret, Willette and Eugène Grasset
Eugène Samuel Grasset (25 May 1845 – 23 October 1917) was a Swiss decorative artist who worked in Paris, France in a variety of creative design fields during the Belle Époque. He is considered a pioneer in Art Nouveau design.
Biography
G ...
.[Posters at the Grolier Club]
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', November 7, 1890
Legacy and death
The poster collector Ernest Maindron, who wrote the first essay about the illustrated poster in the ''Gazette des Beaux-Arts
The ''Gazette des Beaux-Arts'' was a French art review, founded in 1859 by Édouard Houssaye, with Charles Blanc as its first chief editor. Assia Visson Rubinstein was chief editorial secretary under the direction of George Wildenstein from 19 ...
'' in 1884, and later published the first book on the subject (''Les Affiches Illustrees'') in 1886, mentioned the Choubrac brothers and Chéret among the pioneers of the illustrated poster.[Maindron, ''Les affiches Illustrées (1886-1895)'', p. 23][Collins, Bradford R. (1985). ]
The Poster as Art; Jules Chéret and the Struggle for the Equality of the Arts in Late Nineteenth-Century France
', Design Issues, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Spring, 1985), pp. 41-50 Maindron praised Choubrac's bold line, sense of composition and highly decorative skills. According to Maindron, in his subsequent book ''Les Affiches Illustrees (1886–1895)'' published in 1896, Choubrac must have drawn more than four hundred posters for theatres, novels and industry products, before he switched his attention to the design of theatrical costumes, in which he was equally successful.
Alfred Choubrac died on 25 July 1902 from a cold gone bad.[Nécrologie]
'' Le Petit Journal'', 26 July 1902
Selected works
Image:Affiche_Baleinine.jpg, Advertising poster of ''Corsets Baleinine Incassables''
Image:Salle_Wagram-Choubrac-1890.jpg, Advertising poster Salle Wagram
The Salle Wagram is a historic auditorium in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built in 1865. It has been listed as an official historical monument by the French Ministry of Culture since March 2, 1981.
First built in 1812 as the ...
, 1890
Image:Affiche_Folie_Bergère_Danse_de_la_serpentine.jpg, Poster Folies Bergères ''Danse de la serpentine'', 1890
Image:Lejal.jpg, Advertising poster of the French chansonnier Victor Lejal in the ''Ambassadeurs'', 1890
Image:Eugénie Fougère - Choubrac Alfred.JPEG, Portrait of Eugénie Fougère, ca. 1890
Image:Affiche_Casino_de_Trouville,_Choubrac.jpg, Poster ''Casinos de Trouville'', 1890s
Image:Alfred Choubrac - Les Sisters Barrison.jpg, Poster Les Sisters Barrison at the Folies Bergère, c. 1895
Image: Anna Held Scala Choubrac Alfred.jpg, Poster of stage performer and singer Anna Held
Helene Anna Held (19 March 1872 – 12 August 1918) was a Polish-French stage performer on Broadway. While appearing in London, she was spotted by impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, who brought her to America as his common-law wife. From 1896 through ...
at the Scala (Paris), c. 1890
Image: L'Aérogyne - Alcazar d'été.jpg, Poster L'aérogyne at the "Alcazar d'Été
The Alcazar d'Été was a Café-concert which opened in 1869, at 8 Avenue Gabriel in Paris, and closed in 1914.
The old Café Morel behind the Élysée Palace was acquired in 1869 by Arsène Goubert who at the time was owner of the " Alcazar" a ...
"
Image:Decauville-4.jpg, Advertising poster of ''Decauville cycles'', c. 1892
Image:Affiche_Cycles_Humber.jpg, Advertising poster of ''Humber Cycles
Humber is an English brand of bicycle. Thomas Humber made himself a velocipede in 1868. From that time he built a substantial business in manufacturing tricycles and bicycles while continuously improving their design and construction. His produc ...
'', France, 1895
Image:OETrianon1896Choubrac.JPG, Advertising poster of the play "Orient-Express", 1896
Image:Affiche_Ohé_Ohé_On_va_ouvrir_Marigny.jpg, Poster ''Ohé Ohé On va ouvrir'', Théâtre des Folies-Marigny
The Théâtre des Folies-Marigny, a former Parisian theatre with a capacity of only 300 spectators, was built in 1848 by the City of Paris for a magician named Lacaze and was originally known as the Salle Lacaze. It was located at the east end o ...
, 1897
Image:St_Ponchon_-_affiche.jpg, Advertising poster of the Hippodrome of Saint-Ponchon
Image:Marius_Fontane_par_Alfred_Choubrac_N%C2%B0259.jpg, Portrait of Marius Fontane in ''Les Hommes d'aujourd'hui'' n°259, 1885
References
Sources
* Beraldi, Henri (1886).
Les graveurs du 19e siècle; guide de l'amateur d'estampes modernes
', Paris: L. Conquet
* Hiatt, Charles (1896).
Picture Posters
', London/New York: George Bell & Sons, MacMillan & Co.
* Maindron, Ernest (1896).
Les affiches Illustrées (1886-1895)
', Paris: G. Boudet
* Martin, Jules (1897).
Nos peintres et sculpteurs, graveurs, dessinateurs
', Paris: E. Flammarion
* Rapazzini, Francesco (2016).
Le Moulin Rouge en folies
', Paris: Cherche Midi,
* Verhagen, Marcus, ''The poster in Fin-de-Siècle Paris: "That Mobile and Degenerate Art"'', in: Charney, Leo & Vanessa R. Schwartz (eds.) (1995).
Cinema and the Invention of Modern Life
', Berkeley (CA): University of California Press,
External links
*
Alfred Choubrac (1853-1902)
BnF Data
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choubrac, Alfred
1853 births
1902 deaths
19th-century French painters
French male painters
French illustrators
French draughtsmen
French poster artists
19th-century French male artists
Belle Époque