Cirage Jacquot. 1896.

Artist: LUCIEN LEFEVRE (1850-?) Size: 49 1/8 x 69 1/2 in./124.8 x 176.6 cm Imp. Chaix, Paris This comedic "slice-of-life" by Lefevre has long been celebrated for its wit, charm, and technique. Out of charcoal and in a pinch, an artiste-clown substitutes Cirage Jacquot & Cie shoe polish for face-paint – to the obvious hilarity of a third clown watching the ad-hoc switcheroo take place. The switcheroo is on us as well: we're now thoroughly invested in this ad, this art, this scene taking place – centered on something as profoundly mundane as shoe polish. Lefevre was Chéret's student, and here the student has outpaced his master. Chéret frequently has imp-like figures hovering, glowering just behind his posters' protagonists. Here, Lefevre converts the theme of surveillance into comedy, while making sure that we don't just get the joke – we're in on the joke. An ingenious bit of postmodernism in 1896, long before there was a word for such a thing. This is a two-sheet poster. (Clown; Fashion)