France-Champagne

Pierre Bonnard was a member of the Nabis (Hebrew for “prophets”), a Parisian Post-Impressionist group whose aesthetic influences included Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints and whose goals called for a greater connection between art and everyday life through a synthesis of fine art and ordinary subjects. The democratic nature of printmaking was therefore ideally suited to Bonnard, as the multiple impressions of a print could be experienced by a relatively broad audience. Additionally, he benefited from technical innovations in colour lithography, his primary print medium, which had led to renewed interest in printmaking in the 1890s.

This poster advertisement for Debray Champagne was the artist’s first great success, it appeared on the walls of Paris in March 1891. In strong contrast to the bright and colourful posters of Jules Ch�ret, France-Champagne was composed in three colours with black predominant. Its effect lay in the lettering, which was hand-drawn rather than produced from printed characters, and in the suggestive curves of the woman’s extended arm. The only straight line was provided by a closed fan underlining the name of the brand of champagne being advertised. Toulouse-Lautrec was so impressed by this poster that he decided to enter this field himself. Bonnard introduced him to his own printer, Ancourt.