Lot 138: EUGENE VAVASSEUR (1863-?) RIPOLIN. 1898.

49 1/2x72 inches.
Condition B: paper loss, repaired tears and creases along vertical and horizontal folds, some affecting image.
Vavasseur was a prolific illustrator and poster designer who is only remembered today for this poster, which along with Bouisset's little girl for Meunier Chocolate and Michelin's Bibendum became part of French popular culture and a graphic icon of the era. For over fifty years the image of these three painters helped to make this brand universally known, and the impact of this poster was so ubiquitous that the brand name entered into French vocabulary; "ripoline," in French slang, means "well-painted"!