Vrouw met paraplu en man met roos Possibly 1896 - 1897

This color lithograph, “Vrouw met paraplu en man met roos”, was created by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, likely for a mass-produced publication. Rather than canvas and oils, Steinlen worked with lithographic stone, a material that enabled the rapid duplication of images for newspapers and journals like "Gil Blas," the masthead you see at the top. Look closely, and you can see the grainy texture characteristic of lithography, a direct result of the greasy crayon used to draw on the stone. The printed image thus bears the mark of its making, a transfer of the artist’s hand to a surface meant for mass consumption. Notice the rough outlines and the loose hatching that defines the figures; these are not the precise lines of academic drawing, but rather the quick, expressive gestures of a commercial artist working to a deadline. This print offers insight into the world of late 19th-century Paris, where art and commerce were increasingly intertwined, and the traditional hierarchies of art were being challenged by new modes of production and consumption.