Jules Chéret (1836–1932), French painter, lithographer, and poster artist, is regarded as the “father of the modern poster.” The son of a typographer, he trained early in lithography and later studied at the Petite École in Paris before traveling to Italy and London, where he met the perfumer Eugène Rimmel, his first patron.

Back in France in 1866, he founded his own lithography workshop in Paris and revolutionized poster art by perfecting color printing techniques. His creations, mainly devoted to shows and entertainment, popularized an iconic female figure—the “Chérette”—joyful, elegant, and airy, which left a lasting mark on the imagination of the Belle Époque.

From the 1890s onward, Chéret also turned to painting and large-scale decorative work (Paris City Hall, Musée Grévin, Villa Vitta in Évian, etc.). Honored with numerous distinctions, he was promoted to Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1926. His posters influenced artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec, Bonnard, Vuillard, and Mucha, and contributed to the golden age of poster art.

Stricken with blindness in 1925, he stopped painting and died in Nice in 1932.