Print of the Day!! Fri, Nov 10, 2023 is by Theophile A. Steinlen (1859-1923): "Chanson de Route", lithograph, ca. 1915, 44/100.

Print of the Day!! Friday, November 10, 2023 is by French printmaker Theophile A. Steinlen (1859-1923). ?

"Chanson de Route" (Road Song) is a lithograph, done around 1915 by French printmaker Theophile Alexandre Steinlen (1859-1923). The image measures 17-3/4 x 12-1/4 inches. This impression is pencil signed and editioned "44/100" in the lower margin and is also stone signed and titled within the image. It was printed by the artist and professional printers at Verneau, Paris on a sheet of ivory wove paper that measures 22 x 15 inches. In addition there is an etched remarque portrait in the lower margin, and on the verso is an unidentified collectors mark, a yellow donkey. Our inventory number for this work is 2359.

This WWI lithograph by Theophile Alexandre Steinlen (1859-1923) is available from the gallery for purchase.

A line of French soldiers marches down a rain-wet path, mouths open in song. Theophile Steinlen's title loosely translates to "Song of the Road" or "Song of the Way" and illustrates a relatively calm moment in the midst of one of the most devastating events in world history: the Great War, or World War I. In 1915, about the time when Steinlen created this lithograph, it was thought that this was truly going to be the "war to end all wars" as its scope of reach and terrible toll seemed, at the time, to be the worst in human history. Steinlen had heretofore been a champion of lower class society, especially those in the arts. He became a kind of documentarian of the lives of those who traditionally had been swept under the rug, and was known for his posters and advertisements for such venues as le Chat Noir, which hosted musicians and performers who pushed against the status quo.

However, when war broke out in 1914, Steinlen's artistic path changed course and he began to capture the oft-overlooked fallout endured by the families of dead soldiers. As well, he turned his gaze to quieter moments experienced by soldiers as they prepared to ship out, rather than focusing on the carnage of the battlefield. In "Chanson de Route" he illuminates the gritty morale of the young men who march toward what increasingly felt like certain doom. They sing, heads high, shoulder to shoulder, bracing themselves for what greets them through the ever-powerful balm of music.

In the lower margin the artist added a "remarque", a small etching of a Marianne-like figure, a helmeted woman who represents the French ideal of liberty.

Painter, sculptor, printmaker, and illustrator Theophile Alexandre Steinlen was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1859. Following studies at the University of Lausanne he took a design internship at a textile mill in Mulhouse, France. Soon thereafter, on the advice of painter Francois Bocion, he relocated with his wife Emilie to Monmartre, Paris, where he quickly became ensconced in the burgeoning Belle Epoque artists' scene.? Beginning in the early 1890s he exhibited at the Salon des Independants and gained a favorable reputation as a painter, focusing on rural landscapes, nudes, and still lifes, as well as the daily lives of Monmartre's working class and poorer residents. In addition to his work in oil painting and fine prints, Steinlen was a popular graphic artist and poster designer, creating some of the most recognized Art Nouveau poster ads of the times, among them posters for Le Chat Noir and Compagnie Francaise des Chocolate.

A prolific illustrator, he also contributed hundreds of works to the publications Le Rire, Gil Blas, L'Assiette as Beurre, and Les Humouristes, which he co-founded. During World War I, Steinlen created a series of works that dealt with the lives of soldiers, creating darker, moodier lithographic pieces that aimed to illustrate the mood of Paris and Europe as the war played out. Steinlen died in Paris in 1923.

To purchase this work, see other works, or read a biography for Theophile A.Steinlen use this link to our website: https://www.annexgalleries.com/inventory/artist/3345/Steinlen/Theophile%20Alexandre

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