THÉOPHILE STEINLEN

1859–1923

Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, known simply as Steinlen, was a Swiss-born Art
Nouveau painter and printmaker. He was born in Lausanne, where he attended
university. He began work as a textile designer in Lausanne, but soon moved to
the Montmartre section of Paris to pursue a career in art. In Paris, Steinlen met
Adolphe Willette, another painter, who brought Steinlen to the Le Chat Noir
cabaret. There, Steinlen meet the nightclub’s owner who eventually
commissioned him to create poster art for the club. Steinlen’s work was shown at
Paris’ Les Salon des Indépendants—an exhibition established in 1884 in
response to the rigid traditionalism of the official government-sponsored Salon
—indicating his success in the Parisian art world. Much of his work was of cats,
of which he was quite fond.