Les Affiches Illustrés, 1896 and Les Affiches étrangères illustrées, 1897
Known as the father of the modern poster, Jules Cheret was also in his time referred to as the father of female liberation. From his studio in Paris he offered a different vision of women, reflecting the increasing changes in aspirations at a time when women were still unable to vote. Cheret's studies of fashionable women soon became a familiar and much admired aspect of the streets of Paris, and are in part credited with the less constrained atmosphere in Paris for women. Known as Cherettes, elegant, exuberant and often daring, these figures influenced an entire generation of women who previously had been limited to two dimensional representations - puritan or prostitute. Cheret was instrumental in changing the way in which women were depicted, and increasingly the imagery became more dynamic.
