143 - PHEBUS BICYCLE AND TRICYCLE

PHEBUS BICYCLE AND TRICYCLE Pierrot and Colombine on the road, during the Belle Époque, 1890s. Vintage lithographic poster, designed by Romanian artist Jean de Paleologu, known as Pal, printed by Atelier Pal – Paris. 142 x 107 cm. Poster mounted on canvas in excellent condition. Note: Large Belle Époque advertising poster created by Jean de Paleologu, known as Pal—one of the most famous poster artists of the late 19th century—for Phébus bicycles and tricycles. The composition features an elegant Colombine dressed in a black ruffled dress, leaning against a bicycle, while in the background a Pierrot rides a motorized tricycle along a country road. The combination of Commedia dell’arte characters—which were very much in vogue in Belle Époque imagery—lends this advertisement a dimension that is both theatrical and humorous, while celebrating the new modes of transportation that came to symbolize modernity and leisure at the time. Printed in Paris by the Atelier Pal, this lithograph is characteristic of the artist’s refined style, which blends elegant drawing, a subtle color palette, and a keen sense of composition. The bicycle, a symbol of emancipation, speed, and freedom in the late 19th century, becomes here a true object of desire, highlighted by sophisticated feminine imagery and a quintessentially Art Nouveau aesthetic. Mounted on canvas and preserved in excellent condition, this large-format poster is a prime piece for collectors of vintage posters, Belle Époque advertising, and the history of cycling.