Collection: Theophile Alexandre Steinlen

Living on the Butte Montmartre since 1883, Steinlen quickly became friends with artistic figures such as Adolphe Willette and Antonio de La Gandara. He frequented the cabaret Le Chat Noir, where he became friends with Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Aristide Bruant. He exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants from 1893 and at the Salon des Humoristes. An opponent of injustice, he depicted scenes from the street, factories and mines, highlighting the underprivileged such as beggars, workers, scruffy kids and prostitutes. He is also known for his drawings of cats in all their fantasy. Steinlen favored drawing and pastel to represent daily life and its small trades, inspiring works by Jean Peské and Pablo Picasso. He also developed an engraved work and was especially popular for his posters, such as that of the Tournée du Chat Noir. In addition to his literary illustrations and collaborations with various humorous newspapers, he practiced sculpture on the theme of cats, and founded Les Humoristes in 1911 with Jean-Louis Forain and Charles Léandre. Steinlen is buried in the Saint-Vincent cemetery in Paris. Involved in various libertarian causes, he illustrated anarchist works and campaigned for artists' unions. In 1915, despite his age, he went to the front to depict the lives of soldiers and civilians during the First World War. In 1917, he was commissioned by the Artistic Mission to the Armed Forces to bring back graphic works from the front, focusing his drawings on the misery of the soldiers and the exodus of civilians.