Tournée du Chat Noir
1896 · Colour lithograph (poster) · Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
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About this work
- Artist
- Théophile Steinlen (1859–1923)
- Year
- 1896
- Medium
- Colour lithograph (poster)
- Original size
- 135.9 × 95.9 cm
- Collection
- Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris (department of Prints and Photography)
- Movement
- Belle Époque
A black cat sits bolt upright with its tail curled, a red halo behind its head, under the lettering "Prochainement, Tournée du Chat Noir, avec Rodolphe Salis". Steinlen designed the poster in 1896 to announce the provincial tour of the Chat Noir cabaret's shadow theatre and singers, led by its founder Rodolphe Salis, after the Montmartre cabaret itself had closed; the cat was its emblem, and Steinlen, who filled his own house with cats, drew it as a heraldic beast. It is now the single most reproduced poster of the Belle Époque. Printed by Charles Verneau, Paris. The impression reproduced is in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A black cat on cream with a red band, for a kitchen, hallway, study or café wall at 16×24 or 24×36 in thin black, no mat. It holds a white, cream or dark red wall and pairs with Lait pur stérilisé for a cat pair.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Belle Époque painting
- Era
- 19th century (1896)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- decorative, sophisticated
- Rooms
- kitchen, hallway or entryway, study or library, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — dark wood flatters the lighter palette; black sharpens it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Tournée du Chat Noir in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Tournée du Chat Noir painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
