An Introduction – Charles Loupot and the poster

This is the first in a series of articles aimed at introducing the French poster-maker Charles Loupot to an English speaking audience. Loupot was one of the most prolific and celebrated graphic artists of his age, but his legacy has disappeared. Virtually unknown even to many art historians, it is time that Loupot is recognised for his contribution to the story of art. What follows is a brief foray into the distinctly French world of L’Affichage – the art of the poster. Perhaps more acutely than any other time,the twentieth century demanded a radical re-evaluation of exactly what the image, and the artwork, was. The critic Walter Benjamin in 1936wondered why the age of reproduction hadn’t rendered artwork worthless. Penny a copy, everyone could get their paws on a blown-up Michelangelo. Yet prestige, and prices, remained intact. Benjamin’s theory was that the original art remained important because of an elusive quality that was hard to pin down – the aura of the artwork, the presence of pieces in those sacred, hushed, halls of galleries.…