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Fernand Fernel ARTIST: FERNAND FERNEL (1872-1934) SIZE: 37 x 50 1/2 in./94 x 128.3 cm PRINTER: Imp. P. Vercasson, Paris DESCRIPTION: “Fernand Fernel is a disciple of Chéret. Like his master, he uses colors extensively, but treats them in a less nuanced and more decorative manner. The young Hetaira who serves a soft drink in a cup is an excuse to develop curves that evoke Art Nouveau and floral motifs that are sometimes stylized, sometimes more realistic. By presenting the scene against a black background, Fernel gives maximum impact to the image, which stands out like a spotlight. His work also prefigures, to a certain extent, the so-called psychedelic art of the years 1966-1969, practiced, initially, under the effect of a drug. The carbonated drink, similar to a soda, produced by a seltzer machine equipped with one of these ‘fragrant and therapeutic gas capsules’ cited in the text of the poster, fights colds and other respiratory diseases. Would it contain apomorphine, used at the time as an expectorant and obtained by dehydration of morphine, as the poppy flower in the foreground seems to suggest?” (Santé, p. 30). (Art Nouveau; Beauty/Health) Poster FERNAND FERNEL (1872-1934) Ref: Santé, p. 30 A. 37 x 50 1/2 in./94 x 128.3 cm