Collection of the Chat Noir

This poster advertises the sale of the collection of Rodolphe Salis, the owner of the Chat Noir, which opened in 1881 as the first cabaret in Paris.  The artistic patrons of the Chat Noir and its irreverent performances of songs, plays, readings, and parades set the anything-goes tone for Montmartre.  Its shadow theater, which combined colored lights, painted backgrounds, and sound effects with sophisticated cut-outs (emphasizing bold shapes and expressive silhouettes), was especially influential on the development of art in Toulouse-Lautrec's circle.