Guinguette Fleurie

This rare poster for Guinguette Fleurie is one of only seven posters created by important School of Paris artist, Jacques Villon. Printed in 1899, Guinguette Fleurie perfectly encapsulates the Art Nouveau style popular during the Belle Epoque. Guinguettes were a style of open-air bars that were in vogue during the modernization of Paris at the end of the 1800s. A place to get a cheap drink or bite to eat, they often featured music and dancing and were catered to the growing working class. This particular guinguette was located in a former bicycling school on a side street in the artsy Montmartre neighborhood of Paris. Through Villon’s artfully considered hand-lettering, we are invited to see the performances of the best poets and singers of Montmartre at 8:30 every night. A fashionable woman disrupts the scene (or do we disrupt her?), kicking the words to the margins as she observes one of the famous singers perform at Guinguette Fleurie. Paris during the Belle Epoque was one of the first times that women could be seen out in public without an escort, enjoying life outside the home freely and independently. The woman’s bright cape and full hat show us that this guinguette is one where all can come and enjoy a fun night out.

Jacques Villon (1875-1963) was an incredibly prolific artist, who specialized in printmaking and painting. At the first retrospective of his works at MoMA in 1953, curator William Lieberman explained, "...Villon’s reputation will rest as firmly upon his accomplishment as a printmaker as upon his achievement as a painter. The extent of his graphic oeuvre, more than 600 engravings and lithographs, exceeds in number that of Braque, Matisse, Picasso, or Rouault."

Jacques Villon was born Gaston Duchamp and was the eldest brother of famed Dadaist, Marcel Duchamp. The name change occurred upon his arrival to Paris in 1895, in an attempt to distance himself from his father’s wishes for him to be a lawyer. Villon’s grandfather was a printmaker of architectural prints who taught Jacques early-on the skills to become a master printer. Jacques arrived in Paris fortuitously at the same time that printmaking was becoming more artisanal and less commercial (think Mary Cassatt). This expertise in printing ushered Villon into the world of fine art, and early success. This meant that he did not need to create many commercial works, and helps to explain the small amount of posters he created. In 1911, Villon fully embraced cubism and became one of the movement’s most prolific artists. Guinguette Fleurie is rare in that it is one of such a small amount of posters by Villon, and in a style he worked for only a short time within.

This is an Original Vintage Poster. It is not a reproduction. This poster is conservation mounted, linen backed and in excellent condition. We guarantee the authenticity of all of our posters.