Theophile Alexandre Steinlen, frequently referred to as Steinlen (1859 1923), was a Swiss-born French Art Nouveau painter and printmaker. This lithograph was part of the Les Maîtres de l'Affiche (Masters of the Poster), a total of 256 color lithographic plates used to create an art publication during the Belle Époque in Paris. The collection, reproduced from the original works of ninety-seven artists in a smaller 11 x 15 inch format, was put together by Jules Chéret, the father of poster art. The varied selection of prints were sold in packages of four and delivered monthly to subscribers. The novel that the newspaper is publishing in serialized form tells the story of a boy from an orphanage. Steinlen reinforces the drabness of the child's life by using a largely monochrome background. In English the novel's title was "The Guilty Man".