Georges de Feure, “Lithographies originales Album n°1,” ca. 1898 (Photo: Ian Millman, via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain).
In the late 19th century, art underwent several radical transformations. Movements ranging from Post-Impressionism to Fauvism aimed to challenge artistic conventions, especially those rooted in realism, academicism, and the separation between production methods. Art Nouveau is one of the most prominent examples of these impulses. It preferred sinuous curves and an attention to decorative and naturalistic elements. It also introduced printmaking as an artistic medium, a favorite of the French artist Georges de Feure.
Born in Paris in 1868, de Feure worked across genres, including painting, theatrical design, industrial design, and lithography. He was one of the eleven students admitted to Amsterdam’s Rijksacademie voor Beeldende Kunsten in 1886 but quickly returned to Paris. Like many other artists protesting against academic expectations, he felt that formal training had little to offer him. By the 1890s, de Feure was creating dynamic, vivid posters in the Art Nouveau style.
Art Nouveau popularized lithography as a legitimate art form, whereas woodcuts, engraving, and etching were the preferred printmaking techniques before the movement’s emergence. De Feure’s lithographs incorporated bold colors, flowing lines, and playful typography common in Art Nouveau. He often designed posters for music halls, theatrical events, art exhibitions, and cafés.
Compared to contemporaries such as Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha, de Feure didn’t attain the same level of fame. He died in poverty in Paris at the age of 75. De Feure’s posters are nevertheless expressive and striking and are held in prominent museum collections, including the MoMA and Van Gogh Museum.
Below is a selection of de Feure’s posters, all of which perfectly capture the range of Art Nouveau lithography.
The 19th-century French artist Georges de Feure created stunning lithographic posters during the Art Nouveau movement.
Georges de Feure, “Paris-Almanach,” 1894 (Photo: Public Institution Paris Musées, via rawpixel, Public Domain).
Georges de Feure, “Le Journal des ventes, n°15 et paraissant les Dimanches,” btwn. 1899-1900 (Photo: Musée des arts décoratifs de Paris, via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain).
Georges de Feure, “Jane Derval Folies-Bergère,” 1904 (Photo: Gallica Digital Library, via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain).
De Feure’s posters often employed bold colors, flowing curves, and playful typography, all common in the Art Nouveau style.
Georges de Feure, “Affiche pour le Magasin de Nouveautés ‘A Jeanne d’Arc’ à Carcassonne,” 1898 (Photo: New York Public Library, via rawpixel, Public Domain).
Georges de Feure typically designed posters for music halls, theatrical events, art exhibitions, and cafés.
Georges de Feure, “Affiche pour le Salon des Cent,” 1896 (Photo: New York Public Library, via rawpixel, Public Domain).
Georges de Feure, “Comédie-Parisienne with portrait of Loie Fuller,” 1895 (Photo: Public Institution Paris Musées, via rawpixel, Public Domain).
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