“The man who places something good where before was nothing but bad, something beautiful where before was ugliness, is a veritable missionary. Jules Chéret went out into the desert and produced an oasis—beauty where none was expected. Reds, yellows and blues are not tractable; yet they are a part of the language of the advertiser. He sounds a trumpet in prismatic colors; he announces a sale, a cure-all, a new book, a play, a singer.” Louis H. Gibson, “Jules Chéret,” Modern Art 1, no. 1 (Winter 1893).

       

"His (poster) masterpieces define the limits of poster style: where Cheret epitomizes a completely external, impersonal viewpoint, Lautrec is the embodiment of internal, personal vision with a point to make, not, to be sure, a moral judgment, but rather an amused, wry observation on the passing scene. The achievement of Cheret was to create a world of explosive happiness, and to paste it on the walls of Paris. As a painter he will be remembered for what Huysmans calls his 'spirit of nervous gaiety', as a lithographer for his superb technique, and as a poster artist for being the ancestor of all modern advertising." (Abdy p.36)