Affiche van Edmond Sagot 1897

This is an advertising poster for Edmond Sagot, made with color lithography. Its flat planes of color and sinuous lines are typical of the Art Nouveau style. Yet the process of lithography itself also bears consideration. This printmaking technique allows for the relatively quick and inexpensive reproduction of images. A design is drawn on a stone or metal plate with a greasy crayon, treated with chemicals, and then printed. The result? A surface that is both precise in its detail and expansive in its reach. The poster's aesthetic is thus intimately connected to the means of its production. Lithography transformed visual culture by making art more democratic, even as it served the engines of commerce. In this way, the poster reflects tensions between art, craft, and industry at the turn of the 20th century. It asks us to consider who has access to art, and how art itself can be a product of the modern age.