L'Atelier Mourlot | Lithographic Posters

For much of the twentieth century, Mourlot became the beating heart of modern printmaking. Under Fernand Mourlot's guidance, the studio welcomed many of the greatest artists of the age—Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Miró, Braque, Calder, Léger and many more—who embraced lithography not simply as a way to reproduce their paintings, but as an artistic medium in its own right.

Some selected a favourite work from an exhibition to become its poster. Others created entirely new compositions especially for the occasion. Either way, these were original artistic decisions, made by the artists themselves to represent an important moment in their careers.

Pablo Picasso created nearly four hundred lithographs at Mourlot. According to Fernand Mourlot, Picasso would arrive at the studio "like he was going into battle". Asked how many assistants he would need, his answer was immediate: "None at all. I'll do everything myself!"

That direct involvement is exactly what makes these works so compelling.

What we particularly love about the Mourlot posters is that they're so much more than beautiful prints. They capture a moment of celebration—the point at which months, sometimes years, of work finally became an exhibition. They tell us not only what an artist wanted the public to see, but how they chose to present that work to the world. Whether selecting a favourite painting, designing an entirely new image or working closely with the printers on every detail, each poster became part of the exhibition itself. To us, they're wonderful pieces of art history: personal, collaborative and full of life.

Printed in relatively small editions for specific exhibitions, galleries and museums, these posters were never intended to survive as collectors' pieces. As a result, beautifully preserved examples have become surprisingly scarce, and in many cases we now have only a single example of each poster available.

For collectors, they occupy a rather special place. They offer one of the few opportunities to own an authentic original work, created during the artist's lifetime through the close collaboration between artist and the master printers at Mourlot, at a price that remains remarkably accessible compared with paintings, drawings or even many signed prints.

Whether you're a long-established collector or simply curious to discover another side of artists you already love, we hope you'll find something unexpected here. These are not merely posters—they are original works of art, fascinating documents of art history and, above all, beautiful things to live with.