Saxoleine 1893

Curator: Jules Chéret’s “Saxoléine,” created as a lithographic poster in 1893. What catches your eye about this particular advertisement? Editor: The theatricality! The way the woman almost spirals upward, bathed in light, feels so staged, so deliberately… marketed. It reminds me how commodities were becoming increasingly entwined with fantasy at the fin de siècle. And all of that lovely blue in her dress; what’s the source? Curator: That spiral dynamic is key, I think. Notice how the woman’s gaze is directed upward, towards the light source. Chéret consistently used female figures as allegories. The "Chérette," as his idealized woman became known, embodies a sense of liberation and modernity. Here, the Saxoléine lamp not only illuminates her physically, but also metaphorically grants her a kind of visionary power. Editor: Liberated maybe for the upwardly mobile middle classes... Still, to your point, one really gets a sense for the development of the poster as an independent art form, especially its increasing sophistication in colour lithography. And that text... Did they really call this stuff “non-flammable?" That tells you so much about both advertising and technology at this moment in history. The use of color here – the striking red, the intense blue – underscores that it’s all about creating a visceral impact to capture the attention of the viewer on the busy streets. Curator: Absolutely. That vivid coloration underscores Saxoleine’s claims of "safety". Light and colour working together were intended to imply quality and modernity. You see that optimistic, progressive sentiment expressed through very strategic symbolic means. She’s less an individual, and more a symbol for progress...for a safer modernity enabled by petroleum! Editor: Seeing how vibrant this lithograph remains, one can begin to imagine just how disruptive this ad must have been at the time. Curator: Indeed, seeing her again brings fresh insight, don't you think? Editor: Certainly. Looking closer makes me appreciate both its design savvy and how tied it is to its specific moment.