Music

FOLIES-BERGÈRE – LOÏE FULLER — Jules Chéret

Original stone-lithograph plate printed circa 1896 at Imprimerie Chaix (Paris) for Les Affiches Illustrées. This reduced-format lithograph reproduces Jules Chéret’s celebrated poster for the Folies-Bergère, featuring the American dancer Loïe Fuller, whose revolutionary “serpentine dance” with colored lights and flowing silk fabric made her an international sensation in the 1890s.

Loïe Fuller transformed performance art through her innovative use of stage lighting, tinted gels, and swirling movement that turned her dances into living, luminous abstractions. At the Folies-Bergère she became one of the greatest stars of the Belle Époque, embodying both the glamour of Parisian nightlife and the experimental spirit of modern art. Chéret’s poster captures her radiant energy, with the dancer enveloped in cascading waves of fabric, illuminated by light effects that echo her pioneering stagecraft.

Les Affiches Illustrées (1896–1899) was among the first journals dedicated entirely to poster art, issued in small editions for collectors. Produced at the Chaix atelier under Chéret’s artistic supervision, each plate was a stone-lithograph reduction of a major affiche, printed on fine paper. These works, smaller than the street posters but identical in technique, gave collectors a way to preserve the finest poster art of the era.

Title: Folies-Bergère – Loïe Fuller
Artist: Jules Chéret (1836–1932)
Date: c.1896 (after the original Folies-Bergère poster of the 1890s)
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. Brilliant impression with strong colors. An iconic image of Loïe Fuller, whose luminous dance defined the artistic daring of the Belle Époque stage.