[Original artwork]. Shop frontage designs.

Paris, c.1900.

50 x 60 cm; pastel, pencil and paint on black paper, mounted on card; a very little wear to corners, else fine.

£750

Approximately:
US $946€875

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[Original artwork]. Shop frontage designs.

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Two striking facades of the Galeries Lafayette building, with the outlines of figures and carriages in relief as a street scene between the two looks. The first shows various sporting pursuits under a globe topped by a boat, the second dancers.

Originally established by Théophile Bader and Alphonse Kahn in 1893 as a grocery under the name ‘Aux Galeries Lafayette’ as appears in the present images, 1900 saw the firm renamed simply ‘Galeries Lafayette’, and 1908 the acquisition of the now iconic building at Boulevard Haussmann.

The purpose of the current drawings is not entirely clear. Possibly they were intended as mock ups for advertising, or for the temporary decoration of the exterior of the building.

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