{"product_id":"acatene-metropole-baylac-1898-art-nouveau","title":"Acatène Métropole 1898 | Baylac Art Nouveau Cycling Poster","description":"\u003cp\u003eA golden-haired priestess in crimson and white robes stands beside a sleek black chainless bicycle, one arm extended, the other raised to the wheel rim above her head. A broad-winged eagle soars at upper right, its sun-halo inscribed 'Vae Catenis', Woe to Chains, the Latin motto that doubles as the brand's founding pun: the Acatène (without chain) Métropole bicycle, manufactured at Pantin and sold through 2 Rue Adolphe Adam, Paris.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLucien Baylac (1851–1913), a French illustrator who trained in the circle of Jules Chéret, designed this lithograph for Affiches Kossuth, Paris, in 1898. The poster appeared in parallel with the Acatène Velleda variant, now held in the Library of Congress, and promoted the chainless bevel-gear bicycle alongside its standard fitment of American G \u0026amp; J tyres. The allegorical figure draws on Velleda, the first-century Germanic priestess who led the Batavian uprising against the Romans, a figure chosen to embody the bicycle's promise of liberation from chain-driven convention.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe design is notable for the density of its visual argument: the abstract motto above the eagle, the circular medallions on Velleda's dress echoing the wheel forms of the bicycle, the crackle-blue mosaic ground that fixes the headline type, and the sandy Pannonian distance suggesting freedom of movement. All operate within the sinuous, chromatic conventions of Belle Époque lithography that Baylac absorbed from Chéret's workshop. PAI auction records note that the design was produced in variant printings bearing different artist attributions, Tichon and Dorfi among them, with the Kossuth imprint common to all.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReproduced here as a giclée print on 200gsm Enhanced Matte Fine Art Paper, drawn from a high-resolution archival source. For collectors of Art Nouveau graphic design, Belle Époque cycling history, or French fin-de-siècle advertising art.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vintage Poster Archives","offers":[{"title":"A4","offer_id":64237326467449,"sku":"VPA-13398-A4","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3","offer_id":64237326500217,"sku":"VPA-13398-A3","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A2","offer_id":64237326532985,"sku":"VPA-13398-A2","price":34.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"50x70cm","offer_id":64237326565753,"sku":"VPA-13398-50x70cm","price":39.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A1","offer_id":64237326598521,"sku":"VPA-13398-A1","price":44.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"70x100cm","offer_id":64237326631289,"sku":"VPA-13398-70x100cm","price":59.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A0","offer_id":64237326664057,"sku":"VPA-13398-A0","price":69.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0994\/1139\/4937\/files\/Advertising-AcateneMetropole-ChainlessBicycle-AllegoricalGoddess-c1898.jpg?v=1786629668","url":"https:\/\/vintageposterarchives.com\/products\/acatene-metropole-baylac-1898-art-nouveau","provider":"Vintage Poster Archives","version":"1.0","type":"link"}