Jules Chéret’s Kinia Raffard,Amer Toni-Aperitif (1888) turns the simple act of pouring a drink into a piece of theatrical display. A woman in a brilliant red dress raises the bottle above a waiting glass, her sweeping silhouette set against a cool, pale-blue ground. Around her, the name “KINIA RAFFARD” expands across the upper field in emphatic lettering, while the darker words “AMER TONI-APÉRITIF” anchor the lower part of the composition. Figure, product and typography compete energetically for attention, yet remain legible at a glance.

Chéret, often called the “father of the modern poster”, helped transform late nineteenth-century commercial lithography into a vivid form of urban visual culture. His posters were designed to register amid the movement and distractions of the street, using strong colour, animated figures and expressive lettering rather than dense explanatory copy. This 1888 advertisement belongs to that emerging language of modern graphic design: the aperitif is presented not simply as a beverage, but through an atmosphere of fashion, sociability and spirited performance.

A closer look

The woman’s dress supplies the poster’s most forceful passage of colour. Its saturated red is modelled with darker folds and sharp highlights, giving the skirt a sense of movement even as the figure pauses to pour. Her pose creates a compact sequence of gestures: one arm controls the tilted bottle, the other steadies the glass, and the diagonal stream implied between them focuses attention on the product itself. Delicate lines around the left side of the figure add further animation, preventing her silhouette from appearing static against the open background.

Chéret builds the design around contrasts of temperature and weight. The blue field is airy and recessive, allowing the warm red costume and skin tones to project forward, while the black lettering gives the composition visual ballast. At the top, “KINIA RAFFARD” has a bold, slightly dimensional treatment; below, “AMER TONI-APÉRITIF” is more compact and declarative. The alternating scale of these words establishes a clear hierarchy: brand first, product second, manufacturer last.

That final information appears in much smaller type along the lower edge: “J. Raffard Seul Fabricant à Ste MAURE (Indre & Loire)”. It is an easily missed but revealing detail. The exuberant figure captures attention from a distance, while the practical commercial message rewards closer inspection. Small touches—the glint of the glass, the indistinct label on the bottle, the fine treatment of the woman’s hair and neckline—bring polish to an otherwise broad and immediately readable design.

Context and significance

In fin-de-siècle France, the poster was becoming an integral part of the modern streetscape, combining advertising with increasingly ambitious colour and composition. Chéret was central to that development. His graceful, active female figures differed markedly from static product displays: they made commodities appear part of a lively contemporary world, while broad areas of colour and fluid contours allowed the message to be understood quickly.

Kinia Raffard,Amer Toni-Aperitif (1888) demonstrates how effectively Chéret balanced commerce and spectacle. The bottle and glass remain essential, but the poster’s lasting interest lies in the choreography around them—the raised arm, swirling red fabric, cool expanse of blue and insistent blocks of lettering. It is at once an advertisement for an aperitif and a concise lesson in how modern publicity learned to command the eye.

Choosing the right size and finish

Artwork can feel intimate at smaller sizes and dramatically more architectural at larger ones. Use the room preview, model image and size guide to see how the proportions and scale will work in your space.

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The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this art print.

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Selected artworks can be produced at statement sizes up to 3 metres (10ft). Custom sizing and specialist framing are also available. If the exact option you need is not listed, contact our workshop.

This artwork is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The work is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present an art print without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas art and explore the differences between my different finishes.