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La Fronde

Poster
1898 (designed), 1898 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This poster advertises the feminist newspaper 'La Fronde' [The Sling] published by activist Marguerite Durand between 1897 and 1905. Women's rights organisations in Britain and France were quick to recognise the potential of modern advertising techniques and in the process of selling the newspaper this poster also promotes the political message of the French feminists.

It depicts a socially diverse group women looking out across Paris from a vantage point in the working class suburb of Montmartre. The group includes a well dressed middle class woman, an artist, a worker, a nurse (possibly a nun), an old woman and a young girl. The message is that, while the women involved with 'La Fronde' tended to be from the middle class, they were campaigning for fundamental rights for all women regardless of age, class or profession. The wealthy woman holds her less fortunate companion by the hand and gestures towards the cupola of the Sorbonne University and the goal of female educstion. 'La Fronde' was run exclusively by women and the poster was designed by one of the few early female poster artists.

The poster is a beautiful example of expressive lithography drawn in the modern poster style of the 1890s with bold use of colour, line and space. It was printed by the well known Paris printer Charles Verneau who was a champion of the artistic poster.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleLa Fronde (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Colour lithograph
Brief description
Poster by Clémentine-Hélène Dufau promoting the feminist journal La Fronde. France, 1898.
Physical description
Lithographic poster depicting a socially diverse group of women looking out across the city of Paris from a vantage point in the district of Montmartre. One of the women gestures towards the cupola of the Sorbonne University.
Dimensions
  • Height: 99cm
  • Sheet width: 139cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • CH Dufau (printed in red at bottom left-hand corner)
  • Imp Charle Verneau 114 Rue Oberkampf, Paris (Déposé) (printed down right-hand edge)
  • Affiches Charle Verneau (printed in green with an image of a printer at bottom right-hand corner)
  • illegible stamp (stamped in middle of poster. Possibly a stamp added by the printer to control distribution and stop the billposter selling the poster to collectors.)
Place depicted
Summary
This poster advertises the feminist newspaper 'La Fronde' [The Sling] published by activist Marguerite Durand between 1897 and 1905. Women's rights organisations in Britain and France were quick to recognise the potential of modern advertising techniques and in the process of selling the newspaper this poster also promotes the political message of the French feminists.

It depicts a socially diverse group women looking out across Paris from a vantage point in the working class suburb of Montmartre. The group includes a well dressed middle class woman, an artist, a worker, a nurse (possibly a nun), an old woman and a young girl. The message is that, while the women involved with 'La Fronde' tended to be from the middle class, they were campaigning for fundamental rights for all women regardless of age, class or profession. The wealthy woman holds her less fortunate companion by the hand and gestures towards the cupola of the Sorbonne University and the goal of female educstion. 'La Fronde' was run exclusively by women and the poster was designed by one of the few early female poster artists.

The poster is a beautiful example of expressive lithography drawn in the modern poster style of the 1890s with bold use of colour, line and space. It was printed by the well known Paris printer Charles Verneau who was a champion of the artistic poster.
Collection
Accession number
E.266-2009

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Record createdFebruary 22, 2010
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