The modern life of a poster began in the nineteenth century and in the nineties the promotional posters of the popular at that time Parisian Cabarets became real form of art.
The creator of the modern poster could be considered the Frenchman Jules Chéret. In 1866 he founded a little lithography in one of the small towns. The main rule of making the poster, which is showiness, belongs to Cheret, as he stated that the attention in the poster should be emphasized on one detail, whether it is a person or a detail. The showiness should be caused by bright colors and large inscriptions on the posters.
This paper analyzes one of Cheret’s works which is a poster called “Pastilles Poncelet” in terms of the look and its idea.
Analysis
The central idea of this promotional poster after translating its inscriptions is advertising a particular medication against cold. The idea is represented as showing a bad weather and a woman standing. The bad weather could be representing the start of the season of rains in autumn, and the woman is covering her mouth as if coughing.
The poster is communicating in many ways, one of them is the text which sends the message and emphasizes the main idea. Another communication tool is the focus on the bad weather, as it is raining and the wind has taken the umbrella out of woman’s hand. The last communication tool that confirms the message is outlining that the woman is suffering from cold. This image is delicately delivered showing her only holding her hand near her mouth.
The idea is represented clearly, if taking in consideration that the text on the posters is understood, thus making other communication tools turned in the right direction at once.
The first assumption made is that the poster represents a promotion for a theatrical exhibition or a show, as the woman in no way is noticed suffering or having illness, although despite the brightness in her clothes the main tones of the poster are rather dark. Thus, the image without the text would not deliver the intended message and as a personal opinion the message to be clear without the text would need a painting of a bottle of some sort, however looking at most of the posters of that period this would have considered rude.
The main audience is the general public, as it could be assumed that this poster was published in the season when most of the people suffer from cold. It also could be assumed that the medication is for adult use as it shows only one adult person.
It can not be said that there is an emphasis on the male audience by using the picture of a woman, as it is possibly used because it is more representing weakness and defenselessness. A picture of a man loosing his umbrella by a strong wind, and covering his mouth would have caused laughs, while the intention is for the audience to feel compassion and caution.
In general, the idea of the poster is an ideal example of the style of Cheret, showing exactly his main rule, i.e. the emphasis on one person, large detail and inscriptions along with bright colors.