Romantic Bookstore
1887
Eugène Grasset's 1887 poster for the 'Librairie Romantique' is a quintessential piece of early Art Nouveau design, blending Gothic romance with modern graphic sensibilities. A fashionable woman in a dramatic black dress and feathered hat is completely absorbed in a book, seemingly transported to the scene behind her: the glowing, moonlit towers of Notre Dame Cathedral. At her feet, a skull and a stack of books hint at the dark, romantic literature she's consuming—perfectly capturing the 'Romantic' spirit of the bookstore she's advertising. This poster helped launch Grasset's career as a master of the Belle Époque poster boom, proving that advertising could be high art.
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