/en/artist-detail/239983/theophile-alexandre-steinlen
/en/artist-detail/239983/theophile-alexandre-steinlen
Théophile-Alexandre STEINLEN
Théophile Alexandre Steinlen was born in 1858 in Lausanne, Switzerland. He arrived in Paris in 1881 and became a French citizen in 1901.
A painter, lithographer, draughtsman and sculptor, he set up his studio at 73 Rue de Caulaincourt, near Montmartre. It was in this Parisian neighbourhood that he enjoyed watching the cats wandering about. Upon his arrival in Paris, he quickly became a regular at the cabaret Le Chat Noir.
He began his artistic training by drawing for humorous newspapers. Indeed, he collaborated with numerous artistic and satirical newspapers such as Gil Blas and Les Hommes Aujourd’hui, which came into being thanks to the 1881 law on freedom of the press. In 1911, he even became one of the thirteen founders of the weekly newspaper Les Humoristes, alongside Adolphe Léon Willette and Jean-Louis Forain.
His body of work is considerable. Indeed, he diversified throughout his career. He illustrated literary works such as Les Soliloques du Pauvre by Jehan Rictus. He also produced some beautiful posters, etchings and a number of paintings, including: Le 14 juillet, L’absinthe, Le beau soir, as well as the famous poster for Le Chat Noir, commissioned by his friend Rodolphe Salis, the cabaret’s director. It would later travel the world.
Our artist has a particular fondness for cats. From the very start of his career, he used them as models for drawings, posters and even sculptures. In doing so, he sought to capture the playful, graceful nature of their movements. Steinlen was not one to leave things to chance; his keen eye and attention to detail are a testament to this.
"The Apotheosis of Cats" is an aesthetic manifesto of this taste and approach.
Théophile managed to carve out a place for himself in the world of sculpture thanks to the many cats he modelled, also making a name for himself as an animal sculptor.
He died on 13 December 1923 in Paris and remains one of the most iconic artists of the Montmartre cabarets and a major painter illustrating social conditions in Paris in the 1900s.