Jules Chéret  (French, 1836-1932) 

Jules Cheret (French, 1836–1932) was a renowned painter and lithographer. Cheret was born in Paris, France, and his family was considered poor, though most of the family members had artistic leanings. At the age of 13, the artist left school and became an apprentice to a lithographer for three years. Cheret became increasingly interested in painting, and went on to enroll at École Nationale de Dessin to study art. Cheret went to London to study photography from 1859 to 1866, and was greatly influenced by British Art, especially printing and poster design.

When Cheret returned to France, he took up poster printing and made posters for different theaters, including Eldorado, the Moulin Rouge, and the Olympia. Apart from the British poster printers, Cheret was also influenced by Rococo artists, such as Antoine Watteau (French, 1684–1721). The demand for Cheret's work grew, and he started working for different outfits, such as municipal festivals, beverage companies, and even pharmaceutical companies, producing different graphical advertisements. Cheret was given the tag Father of The Women's Liberation when he began producing huge paintings of free-spirited females, widely known as Cherettes, which were very much in contrast to the then prevailing norm of depicting females as puritans or prostitutes. Examples of Cheret's paintings include L'Arc en Ciel (1893), Grand Bal Masque (1896), and Musee Grevin, Theatre les Fantoches (1900).

Cheret was instrumental in the emergence of printers and poster designers in the late 1890s. He created the Maîtres de l'Affiche collection in 1895. This was a collection of reproductions from 97 Parisian artists, and the work inspired different artists, including Charles Gesmar (French, 1900–1928). Cheret retired to Nice, France, when he was an old man. The French government awarded him the Légion d'honneur in 1890. Cheret exhibited his work in different institutions, including The Louvre and the Salon, both in Paris, France. Cheret's works are found in various galleries in different countries, including the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan, Folkwang Museum, Essen, Germany, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY. Cheret died in Nice.