Jules Chéret was born in Paris in 1836. He was originally a fine art lithographer but began making advertising posters to earn a living. He created posters for the most famous cabarets and music halls of Paris including the Moulin Rouge, the Olympia, the Theatre de l’Opera, and the Folies Bergères. Chéret’s advertisements grew in popularity and he soon expanded his advertising to soaps, liquors, perfumes, and cosmetics.

As his advertisement posters became well known, a growing number of French women were influenced by the female figures he depicted. The artist represented women who were liberated from the constraints of society, who were neither prostitutes nor puritans, as women had previously been depicted. Many Parisian women were influenced by his imagery, and soon began wearing low-cut bodices and smoking in public, two activities that were formerly considered impermissible.