Alick P. F. Ritchie

The end of the 19th century marked the beginning of a hitherto unknown era in art. While art had until then been viewed from a predominantly aesthetic perspective, art experienced a connection with typography and advertising. Until then, paintings had preferred to be presented on fine canvas, but now paintings were competing with the medium of the poster. The creation of advertising media was in the hands of lithographers and draughtsmen who showed little talent in the artistic field. The increasing industrialisation made advertising a flourishing branch of industry. Artists increasingly took over the artistic design of attractive posters. In Paris Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec caused a sensation with his advertising for the city's dance theatres. In London, offices developed that were completely specialized in artistic advertising. A new art form called advertising technique was established.