Le Rêve (Académie Nationale de Musique)

Set in sixteenth-century Japan, Léon Gastinel’s ballet Le Rêve was first performed at the Paris Opéra in 1890. This poster advertises its production at the Académie Nationale de Musique in Paris. Much like Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta The Mikado, which was staged in Paris in 1889, Le Rêve brought a cliché-ridden representation of Japanese culture to European audiences that included a massive fan-shaped set with appropriated manga figures, large fans held by performers, and a main character (at left) dressed in a kimono over her tutu. In this early poster design by Steinlen, he incorporated bright planes of color from ukiyo-e prints and Japanese-style lettering. Charles Gillot, the son of the inventor of the gillotage printing process used here, was a noted collector of Japanese objects.