Absinthe Lithograph.

Absinthe chromolithograph from a painting by Charles Maire (1845 - 1919), this ubiquitous print advertising Pernod Fils once hung in almost every bar and cafe in France. Unusually, the chromolithograph is backed on to canvas, and then varnished, giving it the appearance of an original oil. Both Picasso and Braque were inspired by this image, using it as the basis of some of the very earliest Cubist paintings including “Boouteille de Pernod et verre” a painting from 1912. In 1959, during a press interview with the French poet and artist Jean Cocteau, he talked about his friendship with Picasso, and his visits to the artist's atelier. He described how a copy of Maire's Pernod Fills chromolithograph was hung in Picasso's studio during the time he was creating his early cubist masterpieces, and how Picasso gave it to him as a souvenir. Pontarlier was famous for the production of absinthe until its ban in 1915. The distilleries switched over to producing pastis. With the ban partially lifted in the 1990s, distilleries are once again producing absinthe in Pontarlier. This particular chromolithograph came out of The Café des Promenades in Tonnerre, established in 1880. It was locked and untouched for 41 years until the key was turned in January, 2009. On canvas, stretched and mounted on wood. Ca. 1880.

Absinthe Chromo Lithograph (No. C544). Dimensions: 21.5" x 17.5" x .5". Shipping: included.