Billposting developed in France from 1539, the year of a royal decree by François I' regulating printed bills. Until the end of the 18th century, posters were generally affixed to street corners, private doors and churches.

The urban redevelopment undertaken by Baron Haussmann in the 19th century indirectly encouraged the development of posters. Entire neighborhoods were covered with hoardings, providing the burgeoning poster industry with numerous new surfaces. These were taken over by billposting companies, who installed wooden frames for posters. Posters were overlapped and jostled with one another, creating a colorful, lively mosaic that all the keen observers of the time have noted.

Our talk will trace the history of the poster in France, drawing on the exceptional collection of nearly 300 works presented at the Musée d'Orsay as part of the “L'art est dans la rue” exhibition featuring the “poster masters”. Bonnard, Chéret, Grasset, Mucha, Steinlen, Toulouse-Lautrec... and the spectacular rise of the illustrated poster in Paris in the second half of the 19th century.