Aux Buttes Chaumont 1890

Jules Chéret created this advertisement for the Grands Magasins Aux Buttes Chaumont, showcasing the department store's winter collection of dresses and coats for women and girls. Chéret, working during the Belle Époque, revolutionized poster design through his use of vibrant color lithography. But his images also helped to define the era's concept of femininity. Here we see the archetypal "Chérette," a young, energetic woman, embodying the freedom and consumerism of urban life in Paris. She’s a figure that’s both celebratory and complicated. While seemingly empowering, this image catered to the male gaze, reinforcing gendered consumer roles and ideals. Through the commercial image, women were both objectified and invited to participate in the spectacle of modernity, highlighting the complex dynamics of gender, class, and consumer culture at the turn of the century.