Study for poster -Exposition Universelle-Palais de l’Optique La Grande lunette de 1900- by Georges Paul Leroux

Study for poster -Exposition Universelle-Palais de l’Optique La Grande lunette de 1900- 1900

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drawing, charcoal

portrait

drawing

symbolism

portrait drawing

charcoal

academic-art

nude

Dimensions 24 1/2 × 14 in. (62.2 × 35.6 cm)

This charcoal drawing was made by Georges Paul Leroux, around 1900, as a study for a poster advertising the Exposition Universelle in Paris. Charcoal is a humble material, just burnt wood, but in the hands of a skilled artist, it can be used to create striking images like this one. The powdery, soft quality of charcoal allows for a wide range of tonal values, from the deepest blacks to the palest grays. Leroux uses these to great effect, creating a dramatic contrast between light and shadow, and carefully modulating the tones to create a sense of depth and volume. The marks are very subtle, creating soft shadows, and reflecting the gaze of the figure toward her hands. While posters like this one were often mass-produced using mechanical means, the initial design still required the hand of an artist. Looking closely at the work's material and process allows us to recognize the labor and skill that went into its creation, and to question any lingering distinctions between art and craft.

Comments

minneapolisinstituteofart over 1 year ago

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A top attraction at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris was La Grande Lunette, a giant telescope in the Palais de l’Optique (Palace of Optics). The greatly magnified views of the moon it provided proved wildly popular with the public. Georges Leroux designed the lunette’s advertising poster. In this drawing, he worked out the contours and lighting of the woman, seen as a half nude gracefully leaning toward an unseen source of light. The application of soft charcoal on highly textured paper yielded a sensual softness throughout the image. The finished poster (see Mia 2010.68) reveals Leroux’s rationale for the woman’s pose: she is bending down to hold the luminous orb in her hands. Leroux made clear his seductive intention with the addition of a young man in the corner. By lowering the moon toward him, the woman demonstrates how technology enables us to experience what once existed only in our dreams. With stars sparkling above the glowing Palais de l’Optique, Leroux set the stage for visitors to the fairgrounds—a place where the fantasies of technology and romance intertwine.