AFFICHOMANIA! MUCHAMANIA!

In the 1880s, the streets of Paris were festooned with multicolored lithographs and vibrant posters by famed masters of the artforms. The posters, which caught the eye of passersby and drew them in, were not just advertisements; they were a public form of art with which everyone was familiar and that had begun to take on new value. A new phenomenon that appeared was the rise of collectors for these posters. Such was the appeal of the posters that a new French word was coined, affichomania (“poster-mania”) as the love these collectors had, and their conversations about the merits of different pieces, broadened individuals’ interest in art .
It was into this febrile environment in Paris, in the golden age of posters, that the artist Alphonse Mucha made his remarkable entrance. He breathed new life into posters with his use of color and artistic composition. The Mucha style, which set him apart from other artists, elevated posters from just an advertising medium to interior décor and something to easily enjoy in and of itself. He played a real part in invigorating Paris’ Belle Epoch.
With this exhibition, we take a look at posters from the perspective of collectors and the collecting of posters as an attempt to highlight the way in which posters grew in value as a new form of art. To do so, the exhibition looks at poster collectors and artists, but also take in a number of individuals and groups connected to the poster world, including art critics, art dealers, printers, and publishers.
Even now, posters from the end of the nineteenth century arouse a strong desire among collectors, and by touching upon this culture, we hope visitors will get a taste of the appeal of Mucha’s posters and his consummate skill as a designer.