Théâtre Libre: La Fumée, puis la Flamme
24 October 1895
Medium
color lithograph on wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 23.9 x 30.7 cm (9 7/16 x 12 1/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Virginia and Ira Jackson Collection
Accession Number
2014.45.1
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of fin-de-siècle Paris with *Théâtre Libre: Fumée, puis laamme*, a striking color lithograph by Louis Abel-Truchet, on October 24, 1895. This intimate print, measuring just 23.9 x 30.7 cm, advertises a production at the innovative Théâtre Libre, André Antoine's groundbreaking venue that revolutionized French theater by embracing naturalism and realism over melodrama. The title evokes the play's dramatic tension—"The Smoke, then the Flamecapturing the era's fascination with emotional intensity and social realism. Abel-Truchet, a multifaceted artist of the Belle Époq...