Untitled 

This ‘Untitled’ artwork was created by Jules-Alexandre Grun during the late 19th or early 20th century in France, and it encapsulates something of the cultural mood of the Parisian Belle Epoque. Grun was associated with the artistic culture of Montmartre, home to cabarets like the Moulin Rouge. Here, we see a woman who looks like a performer, perhaps a dancer, rendered in the graphic style of a poster. Her confident expression, fashionable hat, coat, and monocle, all point to the commercialized entertainment industry taking hold at the time. France in this period was rife with class tension, anti-clericalism, and the early stirrings of feminism. Grun's posters offer a window into a world where traditional social structures were being challenged, negotiated, and sometimes subverted. To understand fully the nuances of Grun's world, one might consult periodicals and newspapers of the time to see how visual artists engaged with the issues and debates of the moment.