Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

Le Rêve (Académie Nationale de Musique)

Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen French, born Switzerland
1890
Not on view
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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Le Rêve (Académie Nationale de Musique)
  • Artist: Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen (French (born Switzerland), Lausanne 1859–1923 Paris)
  • Printer: Charles Gillot
  • Date: 1890
  • Medium: Photo relief print (gillotage)
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 35 1/16 × 25 1/16 in. (89 × 63.7 cm)
  • Classifications: Prints, Posters
  • Credit Line: Gift of Bessie Potter Vonnoh, 1941
  • Object Number: 41.12.11
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
Nude Asleep, Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen French, born Switzerland, Charcoal with white chalk highlights on off-white laid paper mounted on Masonite
Nude Asleep
Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen
early 20th century
Ceramic Horn, Glazed pottery, French
Ceramic Horn
French
late 18th or early 19th century
Moulin Rouge: La Goulue, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec French, Lithograph printed in four colors; three sheets of wove paper
Moulin Rouge: La Goulue
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Printer Affiches Américaines, Charles Lévy
1891
Dancer at a Café Concert, Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen French, born Switzerland, Black ink over blue and black crayon with white lead used for correction and blue crayon and black ink border on off-white wove paper, darkened, mounted on board, and affixed to heavy board
Dancer at a Café Concert
Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen
1892–93
Osage Warrior, Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin French, Watercolor and graphite on off-white wove paper, American
Osage Warrior
Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin
1805–7

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.