THE next exhibition to go on display at the Bowes Museum will recreate an exhibition which was last seen 110 years ago and shared a billing with boxing kangaroos.

Toulouse-Lautrec and the Art of the French Poster, which opens on September 11 and runs until January 9, recreates an exhibition of 1894 at the Royal Aquarium, in London.

The show focused on the larger than life images by Jules Chert, Toulouse-Lautrec and other contemporary designers, which advertised products and theatre shows.

The Aquarium, which stood on the site of the present Central Hall, was an amusement hall (which did not have any fish) and featured the exhibition alongside boxing kangaroos.

The museum has borrowed the posters displayed at that exhibition from the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Exhibitions manager Viv Reid said: "While there have been exhibitions about Toulouse-Lautrec before, they have tended to concentrate on his art rather than his poster art.

"The posters appeared at a time when Paris was seen as being slightly risqu with places like the Moulin Rouge and the cancan. This was really the advent of marketing and advertising and these posters capture the Paris highlife."

Published: 01/07/2004