Jules Chret (1836-1932) developed commercial posters into an independent art form through the use of colour lithography and contributed to the transformation of the urban image of Paris. The extraordinary effect and wide distribution of his posters gave him the nickname Tiepolo of the Boulevards. It is Jules Chret who influenced artists like Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha who developed the visual language of the advertising poster further.
