Amour et Tambour de Basque 

Curator: Isn't this “Amour et Tambour de Basque” striking? It’s a lithograph poster; we don't know exactly when Steinlen created it, though it embodies the Art Nouveau style beautifully. What springs to mind when you look at it? Editor: I notice the sort of…whimsical energy, with that cherubic figure and the flowing ribbons. It feels almost playful, but also kind of advertising something—sheet music maybe? What’s your take on the overall mood? Curator: It’s intriguing, isn't it? The Art Nouveau aesthetic lends a dreamlike, almost fantastical quality. I see a delightful dance between commerce and art. It pulls you in with the cherub, suggestive of innocence and play, dangling like an advertisement cupid above the explicit 'Polka Fantaisiste' and name of composer, which were essential to its existence. Doesn’t the figure remind you of a vintage valentine? Editor: Yeah, like a romantic greeting card… So, the “amour” is both the love and the cupid figure itself? The letters remind me a bit of old movie posters, even. How intentional do you think these… associations were? Curator: Oh, certainly deliberate. Art Nouveau, especially in poster design, often blurred these lines, elevating everyday advertisements into works of art. Steinlen knew he was winking at both potential sheet music buyers and a broader art-loving audience. Think of Toulouse-Lautrec. A lot is implied by suggestion! What have you gotten out of observing its style? Editor: The visual and the commercial intertwined...it makes me consider how art and advertisement reflect each other today. So much information to glean from just a poster! Curator: Precisely. It makes one wonder, what visual metaphors are WE employing today to get people to stop and listen… or better yet… to look closer?