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Lot 42
Phébus. ca. 1899.
Sold
$3,500
Est.
$3,000 - $4,000
Live Auction
PAI-XCI: Rare Posters
Live Bidding began Nov 12, 2023 at 11:00 AM EST
Category
Description
Artist: PAL (Jean de Paléologue, 1860-1942)
Size: 42 3/4 x 57 1/2 in./108.6 x 146 cm
Condition: A-/ Slight tears at edges.
Printer: Imp. Paul Dupont, Paris
Reference: Ref (all var but PAI): Petite Reine, 28; Collectionneur, p. 232; Pierrot, 69; PAI-XC, 57
Key Words: Art Nouveau; Bicycles

Phébus. ca. 1899.
The perennially lovelorn commedia dell'arte clown Pierrot finally turns the tables on Columbina: he's speeding off on Phébus' motorized tricycle, bidding a cheerful adieu to his beau and her bicyclette. By 1899, the "bicycle craze" of the previous decade, with all the overtures toward greater female independence, was morphing into the Automobile Age, and this poster finds the Phébus brand in the midst of this transition. With its hints of Theseus abandoning Ariadne on Naxos (we, as Dionysus, are here to comfort her), this is a magnificent work of bold, tender, and curious emotions.