Ferdinand Misti-Mifliez
French, 1865-1923
Follow
Misti is the pseudonym of Ferdinand Mifliez, who worked in the Chaix (Cheret's) printing plant before opening his own studio and creating many more posters, largely for bicycle and automobile firms, from 1894 to 1914.
Misti was an accomplished painter who exhibited regularly in Paris salons, he was most proud of his poster designs. Throughout the 1890s his posters all bear the imprint "Affiches Misti." Some of his largest clients were department stores, bicycle companies and , after 1900, Les Fetes de Neuilly. His elegant and efficient style, which features beautiful stylish women as often as possible, is a standard of the fin-de-siecle renditioning.
In his art, Misti is often compared to both Cheret, for the lightness and grace of his touch, and to Cappiello, for his use of bold strokes and outlines. Among the great artists of his day, Misti was perhaps most famous for his direct and explicit style.
Misti, after his hectic two decades in the early part of the century, eventually went on to open his own printing plant. In the two decades 1894-1914, Misti designed over 100 posters for a multitude of clients, including bicycles, department stores and publishing houses.
