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Le Sillon

Poster
1895 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Toussaint, Fernand (artist)
Rycker, O. De (printmaker)
Place of origin
Brussels (printed)

This poster by Fernand Toussaint advertises an exhibition by the artists’ group Le Sillon, which was active in Brussels in the 1890s. It shows a romantic image of a woman cutting flowers, surrounded by foliage. Toussaint was primarily a painter, but when he created this image he achieved instant recognition in the field of poster design. The colours are soft and glowing, and the lines have the flowing quality typical of Art Nouveau imagery. Le Sillon is French for furrow, and the image symbolises the aims and expression of a young artist making his mark.

Object details

Categories
Prints
Advertising
Posters
Object type
Poster
TitleLe Sillon (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Colour lithograph
Brief description
'Le Sillon'. Poster designed by Fernand Toussaint, with an illustration of a woman harvesting and surrounded by flowers. Colour lithograph, Belgium, 1895.
Physical description
A poster showing a woman with a long blonde hair, surrounded by flowers, harvesting with a sickle. The words 'Le Sillon' printed across the bottom half of the design.
Dimensions
  • Size of sheet height: 109.9cm
  • Size of sheet width: 90.2cm
Dimensions taken from Victoria & Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1963. London: HMSO, 1964.
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Le Sillon' (Lettered within th design)
  • 'Affiches d'Art O. De Rycker & Cie Bruxelles' (Lettered at the bottom of the sheet)
  • (Near the bottom left corner is a monogram incorporating a flower and the words 'Le Sillon')
Gallery label
(1987-2006)
'American and European Art and Design 1800-1900'

This poster advertises an exhibition by the artists' group Le Sillon (The Furrow). Its designer, the painter and poster artist Fernand Toussaint studied at the Brussels Academy under Portaels. He contributed to exhibitions held by Le Sillon and La Libre Esthétique, and also, 1910, to the Salon of the Société des Artistes Français in Paris. The poster for Le Sillon was said in 1897 to be his earliest. Toussaint entrusted his posters to the famous Brussels lithographer O. de Rycker, who excelled in the printing of subtle, luminous colours.
Object history
This poster was reproduced as Pl.80 in Les Maitres de l'Affiche, Paris, 1897, of which an example is in the Department of Prints and Drawings, E.3105-1938.
Subjects depicted
Exhibition
Flowers
Harvest
Sickle
Hair
Summary
This poster by Fernand Toussaint advertises an exhibition by the artists’ group Le Sillon, which was active in Brussels in the 1890s. It shows a romantic image of a woman cutting flowers, surrounded by foliage. Toussaint was primarily a painter, but when he created this image he achieved instant recognition in the field of poster design. The colours are soft and glowing, and the lines have the flowing quality typical of Art Nouveau imagery. Le Sillon is French for furrow, and the image symbolises the aims and expression of a young artist making his mark.
Bibliographic references
  • Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1963 . London: HMSO, 1964.
  • Henriot, Alexandre Catalogue de l'exposition d'affiches artistiques, françaises et étrangères, modernes et rétrospectives Reims, 1896 1506
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.1429-1963

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Record createdJanuary 14, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O89455/le-sillon-poster-toussaint-fernand/
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