Artist: Leonetto Cappiello Italian (1875-1942)
Title: Mme.Rejane
Plate: LR C4
from "Le Rire"
Original page from the satirical weekly magazine, Printed in Paris 23/07/1898, no.194
Presented in 16 x 20 in. acid free, archival museum mat, with framing labels. Ready to frame. Shipped boxed flat via Fedex.
Certificate of Authenticity.
Sheet Size: 9 in x 12 in 23 cm x 31 cm
Price: $250.00
"Cappiello attempted to capture the effervescent quality of Mme. Rejane, one of the top draws of her day. A contemporary and rival of Sarah Bernhardt, Rejane actually Gabrielle Reju (1857-1920), studied acting at the Conservatory, and made her debut at the Theâtre de Vaudeville in 1892, she married its director, Mr. Porel. She tackled any kind of role, from light comedies to classic drama, but proved to be at her best in playing women of passion" (Wine Spectator 187)
"In 1898 when he (Leonetto Cappiello) decided to pay a visit to his older brother who happened to be working for the Paris Stock exchange. Leonetto found Paris exciting, and wanted to stay longer, which meant he had to find a way to support himself. He approached two famous compatriots who happened to be in town, actor Novelli and composer Puccini, asked them to let him sketch their caricatures. They obliged, and Cappiello submitted the drawings to the humour magazine "Le Rire" they were promptly accepted, and were so well received by the public that he became, virtually overnight, the favoured artist of the Paris Theatre"(Rennert PAI-IX)
One of the magazines asked him to prepare his first poster (Le Frou Frou) for which he used the style of his "Le Rire" work, simple drawing and flat colour. From that point on he was inundated with commissions for posters. These early works he did for "Le Rire" were instrumental in the start of his career, and thus their importance to the serious collector cannot be overestimated.