Theophile Alexandre Steinlen

Biography

Theophile Alexandre Steinlen was born in Switzerland in 1859. He studied literature in Lausanne and also did an internship with a textile printer in Mulhouse.

In 1878, Steinlen moved to Paris where he worked as a technical draftsman, only to later move to the artist’s neighbourhood of Montmartre in 1883. This would prove to be a turning point for Steinlen as he met and made friends with artists like Toulouse-Lautrec, Aristide Bruant, Vallaton and Alphone Allais.

Whilst still earning a living as a technical draftsman, Steinlen was also working as an illustrator for the papers 'Le Chat Noir' and 'Le Mirliton'.

Steinlen held his first exhibition at La Bodiniere in 1884 and later in 1885 he was to draw the first of his famous posters; a poster for the Hotel de Paris in Trouville sur Mer. Many more posters would follow including those for La Compagnie Francaise and Cabaret Le Chat Noir.

As an artist, Steinlen was not only a commercial success but was recognised for the sensitivity he had towards his subject matter. Most notably, he was the favoured artist of French singer Yvette Guilbert. She preferred Steinlen’s approach and the most famous poster of her was 'Les Ambassadeurs' in 1894.

In 1911, along with Forain and Leandre, he founded a paper called 'Les Humorists' and worked as a book illustrator. He continued to exhibit his work which increasingly became satirical and critical of society, not unlike Lautrec, whom he was compared to for most of his career.

Steinlen also liked to draw genre scenes of the working class, watching and capturing the day to day lives of Paris’s residents. He was also very fond of animals in particular cats and would often include them in his work. Steinlen’s cats proved to be very popular and they became a trademark of his work.