Rare French WW1
Propaganda Posters
Opens 10 September
Closes 30 September
Sylvester Fine Art
64 Belsize Lane
London NW3 5BJ
Contact: 020 7443 5990
L’Emprunt de la Libération Abel Faivre
Sylvester Fine Art brings rare touch of WW1
nostalgia to Belsize Village
10 September marks the opening day of Sylvester Fine Art’s latest show
which features beautiful French propaganda posters from WW1. These
stunning original lithographs were created by a myriad of leading artists of
the day, such as SEM, Faivre and Steinlen and, after 100 years and thanks to
the thin paper used at the time, are now rare examples.
By the end of the 19th century France had become the world leader in
commercial art, leading the way in recognising the impact of the poster as
a means of communication; it was during the Great War that this medium
was used more than at any other time during history. Whether the
poster was supposed to inspire, inform or persuade, it was often
combined with vibrant designs resulting in the creation of thousands of
Gallerist Andrea Sylvester said: “this latest show demonstrates the variety
of ways in which the French Government of the time used the poster to
communicate with all corners of society in aid of the war effort. These
posters were used as a positive instrument of war propaganda and
enabled the Government to recruit soldiers, raise money to finance the
war effort as well as encouraging its citizens to conserve resources.”
WW1 was the first time that posters were used on a large-scale for
political purposes and it was thanks to new printing technologies that this
medium had moved beyond the small, single-coloured, mainly textual
productions of the 19th century. Suddenly it was possible to mass-
produce something large and colourful in an affordable manner.
Andrea said: “This snapshot of history is an extraordinary insight into the
issues facing all countries at this terrible time. For example, women were
used as a propaganda tool from early in the war; to begin with women
were portrayed as figures of vulnerability requiring strong men to protect
them (for recruitment) and later they were targeted as needing to fulfil
their role as strong supporters of their men at the front, required to do
‘their bit’ for the war effort (to keep morale high). What many people
may not realise is that our Britannia, symbol of all that is strong and good
about Britain, had her French counterpart in Marianne who stood for the
same patriotic principles.”
These rare WW1 French posters will be available to view and purchase
from 10 September with prices ranging from £650 up to around £2,500.
- ends -
Open: Wednesday - Saturday 11.00am - 6.00pm
Sunday Noon - 5.00pm
Also by appointment outside normal opening hours
Souscrivez pour hâter la paix par victoire
Paul-Albert Besnard
Journée Serbe
Theophile Steinlen
Journée du Poilu
Apolphe Willette