Trianon 80, Bd Rochechouart Spectacle Bal Concert 1897

Curator: Immediately I'm struck by the lightness and the playful use of color. It almost feels like looking at a particularly stylish child's drawing of a theatrical performance. What catches your eye? Editor: The piece we're looking at today is a poster designed by Georges Meunier in 1897. The title is "Trianon 80, Bd Rochechouart Spectacle Bal Concert." The Trianon was a very popular music hall, so the poster is advertising a performance. Curator: Ah, yes, I see it now in the context of promotional material for an evening's entertainment. Looking closer, that violinist's pose is so exaggerated and jaunty – she is practically winking at us. Do you sense any echoes of past iconography in its design? Editor: The violinist has the suggestion of courtly grace and attire—yet she is updated in that Belle Epoque way with a flash of wit, maybe referencing aristocratic gatherings made accessible and commercial for a wide audience. The trees frame a performance in a manner evoking formal gardens with an architectural flourish of theatre in the distance. Curator: You can definitely see echoes of Rococo in her hairstyle and the frilly details. Then the striped skirt and cartoonish flowers on her dress really ground the image. Tell me about the power of these images. Editor: Exactly! And this dance between refinement and a populist aesthetic mirrors shifts of audience and venue. Posters needed to reach a broad public, to communicate quickly and viscerally, so that tension, I think, makes the work vibrant, eye-catching. It is almost anticipating some modern and abstract ideas in color theory and composition. Curator: It absolutely vibrates! What does the title space look like to you, so clear and ready? Does it signal other changes you think? Editor: Its bold simplicity almost shouts "Come One, Come All!" This large space is designed to make details easy to change and customize. Meunier is winking at his audience while building with wit something sustainable. Curator: Definitely a unique lens for both theater-goers and viewers! Thank you, this really provided insight. Editor: Thanks to you as well, always fun to look closer!