An Era of Art, Elegance and Change
The Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation presents BELLE ÉPOQUE, a major temporary exhibition at its Museum in Athens, running from October 31, 2026, to February 15, 2027. Dedicated to one of the most fascinating yet contradictory periods in European history, the exhibition explores the Belle Époque through the lens of one of its most characteristic phenomena: the artistic poster.
From the late 19th century onwards, posters began transforming the streets of Paris, the celebrated “City of Light”, emerging as a dynamic new form of visual communication and paving the way for the development of modern advertising and graphic design.
Tour of the Chat noir, 1896.
Paris, the City of Light
Bringing together approximately 90 works by 15 important artists, the exhibition highlights the distinctive artistic visions of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Alfons Mucha, Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen, Pierre Bonnard, Maurice Denis, Félix Vallotton and Henri-Gabriel Ibels, among others. Also represented are Jules Chéret, René Hermann-Paul, Émile Bernard, Claude-Émile Schuffenecker, George Bottini, Théo van Rysselberghe, Louis Anquetin and Wassily Kandinsky. Alongside the posters, visitors will encounter drawings, oil paintings and pastels.
Integral to the exhibition is its evocative scenography, which recreates the atmosphere of Belle Époque Paris. Exploring the relationship between artistic posters and public space, the exhibition design captures the image and pulse of the French capital, inviting visitors on a visual journey through the “City of Light”.
When Posters Became Art
The exhibition focuses on the decades between 1880 and 1900, when colour lithography reached new heights of technical sophistication, posters spread across urban spaces on an unprecedented scale, and printed images assumed an increasingly prominent role in everyday life. From advertisements for theatrical performances, cabarets and bicycles to emerging forms of consumption, transport and entertainment, the poster became a vivid reflection of a society changing at extraordinary speed.
Belle Époque Paris was a city in constant motion. Haussmann’s grand boulevards, electric lighting, the Métro, department stores, theatres, café-concerts and cabarets transformed everyday life, giving rise to a new urban culture. Posters followed this radical transformation, covering walls and public spaces and turning the streets into an open-air gallery.
The artists featured in the exhibition did far more than illustrate products or promote performances. Through bold compositions, vibrant colours and innovative graphic techniques, they brought the era’s aesthetic experimentation into the world of commercial imagery, helping establish the poster as an autonomous art form. It became much more than an advertisement: an ephemeral yet remarkably eloquent chronicle of contemporary life.
Photo credits © Chris Doulgeris
A City in Transformation
At the same time, the exhibition explores the many, often conflicting, facets of the Belle Époque. Behind the image of a glamorous and carefree era lay stark social inequalities, the harsh living conditions of the working class, political and ideological tensions, and profound changes reshaping modern society. Paris stood at the centre of these upheavals, reflecting technological, industrial and social transformations that were radically altering everyday life. The Dreyfus Affair, the expansion of individual liberties, the flourishing of popular entertainment and the emergence of a new consumer culture all contribute to a more nuanced portrait of the period.
The world of entertainment occupies a special place in the exhibition. Montmartre, the Moulin Rouge, the Folies-Bergère, café-concerts and theatres became vibrant centres of social interaction, amusement and artistic experimentation. Their stars – dancers, singers, actors and performers – became instantly recognisable through the posters created by some of the leading artists of the time.
Ambassadeurs. Aristide Bruant in his cabaret, 1892.
Bringing an Era to Life
The picture of the era is further enriched by an extensive selection of photographic material documenting Belle Époque Paris, much of it sourced from the Bibliothèque nationale de France (National Library of France) and the Musée Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris. These photographs place the artworks within their original urban context, bringing to life the streets, boulevards, crowds and everyday scenes of a city undergoing profound transformation.
The exhibition also incorporates excerpts from early films, including Les colleurs d’affiches (The Poster-Pasters) by the Lumière brothers and Défense d’afficher (Post No Bills) by Georges Méliès, offering an additional glimpse into the visual culture and urban life of the period.
Traditionally, the Belle Époque is considered to span the years from 1880 to 1914, coming to an end with the outbreak of the First World War. The B&E Goulandris Foundation’s exhibition, however, concentrates on the two decades between 1880 and 1900, when the artistic poster reached its zenith and the printed image transformed the relationship between art and everyday life.
Divan japonais, 1892-1893.
BELLE ÉPOQUE invites visitors to rediscover Paris not simply as the mythical “City of Light”, but as a modern metropolis in the throes of feverish transformation – a city where art took to the streets and became an integral part of everyday life.
The exhibition is curated by Marie Koutsomallis-Moreau, Head of Collection at the B&E Goulandris Foundation, and Marina Ferretti Bocquillon, Scientific Director Emerita of the Musée des impressionnismes Giverny.
An extensive trilingual catalogue, in Greek, English and French, accompanies the exhibition, featuring detailed entries and documentation on the artworks.
B&E Goulandris Podcasts: Exploring the Belle Époque
The B&E Goulandris Foundation’s podcast series, “B&E Goulandris Podcasts: An Audio Dive into the Enchanting World of Art”, continues with a special feature dedicated to the BELLE ÉPOQUE exhibition.
The new instalment comprises three episodes. The first explores the Belle Époque as a period that profoundly transformed French society, everyday life and the image of Paris, amid far-reaching social and cultural changes. The second examines the emergence of a new visual language that transformed the streets of Paris and gave rise to modern advertising, while the third turns its attention to Athens during the same period.
Contributors include Marie Koutsomallis-Moreau, Head of Collection at the B&E Goulandris Foundation and co-curator of the exhibition; visual artist and exhibition scenographer Andreas Georgiadis; visual artist and graphic designer Kanella Arapoglou; journalist and author Nikos Vatopoulos; and Amalia Kotsaki, Professor of History and Theory of Architecture.
The podcasts are available on all major platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube Music, as well as on goulandris.gr. Visitors will also be able to access them at the exhibition through QR codes.
Cover photo: Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen (1859-1923), The Street. Charles Verneau Posters, circa 1896.
