Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen (draftsman, painter, poster artist, and sculptor) was born in Lausanne in 1859 and died in Paris in 1923. Naturalized French in 1901, he was a defining artistic voice of his time at the turn of the 20th century during the Belle Époque, through a body of work that is both rich and diverse. He is particularly renowned for his iconic poster promoting the famous Montmartre cabaret, Le Chat Noir.

This large poster, printed in lithography in 1899 by Charles Verneau in Paris, was intended to promote the publication of the (in fact fictional) serialized novel entitled “La Traite des Blanches” by Jean-Louis Dubut de Laforest in the left-wing daily newspaper “Le Journal.” It delivers a powerful denunciation of pimping. With a nervous, expressive line defining the figures, Steinlen vividly illustrates the theme of prostitution.

This poster, with its realistic overtones, caused a scandal at the time of its release, notably due to the presence (before censorship) of a topless woman on the right side of the image. The version presented here is the censored one, in which the woman has been clothed. The composition features four figures: the pimp, imposing and domineering, cigarette in mouth and cane under his arm, contrasted with a group of three women, one in a green dress who appears angry, and another dressed in black, weeping theatrically in the foreground, half-reclining in a vivid red armchair. The artist creates a dynamic narrative composition in which bold, flat areas of strong color heighten the dramatic force of the denunciation.

This rare advertising and activist poster (one of the earliest of its time to denounce prostitution) is linen-backed and measures approximately 46.9 by 74.4 inches.