DOI issue:
No. 372 (March 1924)
DOI article:Valotaire, Marcel; Grimsditch, Herbert B.: Théophile Alexandre Steinlen
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21399#0143
THEOPHILE ALEXANDRE STEINLEN
an outpouring of pity, of moving or re-
bellious generosity. “ Art for art's sake ”
is for him a formula quite void of sense,
and it is in the heart of a great loving-
kindness that we must seek the source
of his inspiration. 0000
In 1883, that charming draughtsman,
Willette, his neighbour on the “ Butte,”
introduced him to the habitues of a little
cafe called the “ Chat Noir,” kept by
Rodolphe Salis, a man of good birth,
and frequented by a band of artists and
literary men, of whom many have since
become famous—Caran d’Ache, H. Pille,
H. Riviere, Delmet, Donnay, Bruant,
Jules Jouy and others. He scored an im-
mediate success with some amusing
caprices (L’Enfant et la Tartine, Le Petit
Chat et le Bout de Cigare, L’Horrible Fin
d’un Poisson Rouge), and particularly with
his famous poster, the Chat Noir. 0
From the time when he became one
PEN AND WASH DRAWING
BY T. A. STEINLEN
(Leicester Galleries)
of the company of the “ Chat Noir,” he
contributed regularly, along with Willette
and Forain, to most of the humorous
journals of the day, which were incom-
parably superior to those of the present:
these were the “ Chat Noir,” the “ Mir-
liton,” the “ Chambard,” the “ Feuille,”
the “ Assiette au Beurre,” and above all
the “ Gil Bias Illustre,” of which he was
virtually the founder and the moving
spirit for many years. 000
A force which considerably influenced
Steinlen’s development was his friendship
with Bruant. At that time the naturalistic
movement in literature was in full swing,
with Zola, the Goncourts, Daudet and
Maupassant as its chief exponents ; and
the novelists were turning their attention
to the lower levels of society, hitherto
despised, treating these subjects writh
obvious sympathy and a marked com-
passion for the poor and the disinherited.
125
an outpouring of pity, of moving or re-
bellious generosity. “ Art for art's sake ”
is for him a formula quite void of sense,
and it is in the heart of a great loving-
kindness that we must seek the source
of his inspiration. 0000
In 1883, that charming draughtsman,
Willette, his neighbour on the “ Butte,”
introduced him to the habitues of a little
cafe called the “ Chat Noir,” kept by
Rodolphe Salis, a man of good birth,
and frequented by a band of artists and
literary men, of whom many have since
become famous—Caran d’Ache, H. Pille,
H. Riviere, Delmet, Donnay, Bruant,
Jules Jouy and others. He scored an im-
mediate success with some amusing
caprices (L’Enfant et la Tartine, Le Petit
Chat et le Bout de Cigare, L’Horrible Fin
d’un Poisson Rouge), and particularly with
his famous poster, the Chat Noir. 0
From the time when he became one
PEN AND WASH DRAWING
BY T. A. STEINLEN
(Leicester Galleries)
of the company of the “ Chat Noir,” he
contributed regularly, along with Willette
and Forain, to most of the humorous
journals of the day, which were incom-
parably superior to those of the present:
these were the “ Chat Noir,” the “ Mir-
liton,” the “ Chambard,” the “ Feuille,”
the “ Assiette au Beurre,” and above all
the “ Gil Bias Illustre,” of which he was
virtually the founder and the moving
spirit for many years. 000
A force which considerably influenced
Steinlen’s development was his friendship
with Bruant. At that time the naturalistic
movement in literature was in full swing,
with Zola, the Goncourts, Daudet and
Maupassant as its chief exponents ; and
the novelists were turning their attention
to the lower levels of society, hitherto
despised, treating these subjects writh
obvious sympathy and a marked com-
passion for the poor and the disinherited.
125