Art Movements

ENCRE MARQUET — Eugène Grasset – 1896

Original stone-lithograph plate printed circa 1896 at Imprimerie Chaix (Paris) for Les Affiches Illustrées. This plate presents Eugène Grasset’s elegant advertising design for Encre Marquet, a French ink manufacturer. Grasset, one of the pioneers of Art Nouveau, was celebrated for his graceful line work, flattened color harmonies, and stylized decorative compositions that drew on medieval and Japanese sources. His poster for Encre Marquet exemplifies this refined approach, transforming a simple commercial product into a work of artistic sophistication.

Les Affiches Illustrées (1896–1899) was one of the earliest journals devoted exclusively to poster art, issued in limited numbers for collectors. Published under the artistic direction of Jules Chéret at the Chaix atelier, each issue contained stone-lithograph reductions of major affiches, printed on fine paper using the same techniques as the large-format originals. These plates offered collectors access to authentic poster art by the leading designers of the Belle Époque in a more practical and collectible format.

Grasset’s Encre Marquet remains an iconic example of French poster design in the 1890s, combining functionality, elegance, and the stylistic innovation that defined Art Nouveau.

Title: Encre Marquet
Artist: Eugène Grasset (1845–1917)
Date: c.1896 (after the original advertising poster)
Printer: Imprimerie Chaix, Paris (Les Affiches Illustrées)
Size: 21.5 × 30 cm (approx. 8.5 × 11.8 in)
Print Type: Stone lithograph
Condition: Excellent “A,” near-mint on fine wove paper
Comments: Authentic plate from Les Affiches Illustrées, produced at Chaix under Jules Chéret. Strong, clean impression with vivid color. A classic Art Nouveau design by Grasset, highlighting his refined decorative style in commercial poster art.