Jules Chéret - Poster for Jacques Offenbach's La Vie parisienne (1866) - Original

Jules Cheret (1836–1932) was a French painter and lithographer who became a master of Belle Époque poster art. He has been called the father of the modern poster. Born in Paris to a poor but creative family of artisans, Chéret had a very limited education. At age thirteen, he began a three-year apprenticeship with a lithographer, and then his interest in painting led him to take an art course at the École Nationale de Dessin. Like most other fledgling artists, Chéret studied the techniques of various artists, past and present, by visiting Paris museums.