CINCINNATI, OH.- As the 19th century was coming to a close, vivid, visually seductive artwork began appearing on the streets of Paris in the form of commercial posters – affiches – promoting everything from goods and services to events and entertainment. This new art-as-advertising hybrid was catalyzed by the expansion of France’s laws governing freedom of speech coinciding with advances in color lithography. The result was a colorful, dramatic artform that epitomized La Belle Epoque. Parisians were captivated by the posters, and collecting them became all the rage. Nearly 140 years later, a collection of some of the best examples of the form are on exhibit in L’Affichomania: The Passion for French Posters, debuting at the Taft Museum of Art June 8 through Sept. 15.

The exhibition is curated by Jeannine Falino, independent curator, museum consultant and professor specializing in decorative arts, craft and design. It features approximately 60 color posters dating from 1875 to 1910, all from the fine and decorative arts collection of the Richard H. Driehaus Museum, Chicago. The Taft Museum of Art is the exhibition’s first stop on a five-city, cross-country tour.

L’Affichomania: The Passion for French Posters features artists Jules Chéret, known as the father of the poster craze, Eugène Grasset, Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha, whose 1911 Princess Hyacinth graces the cover of the exhibition’s accompanying catalogue.

“These artists, in particular, were masters of the medium,” said Deborah Emont Scott, the Louise Taft Semple president/CEO of the Taft Museum of Art. “Though working in different styles, each was able to captivate the Parisian public through distinct uses of color and line.”

The exhibit is of particular relevance to the Taft Museum of Art. Benefactors Charles and Anna Taft collected French fine and decorative art and made at least two trips to France during the period of l’affichomania.

“The Tafts were great admirers of French culture,” Scott said. “They would have seen such posters on their visits to Paris in 1901 and 1903, for example.”