Steinlen made his name as an illustrator in Paris in the 1880s, and as well as producing a considerable number of independant drawings and prints, he worked throughout his life for a number of revues including Le Chat Noir, Le Mirliton, and Le Gil Blas Illustré. "Il est le créateur d'un art inspiré par la vie intense de la capitale de son époque. Les thèmes qu'il a traités sont bien connus: les amoureux, les scènes de moeurs, le labeur, les scènes de rues." (Steinlen, Musée d'Art Moderne, Geneva) Steinlen's anecdotal scenes from Paris life were precisely those that would be copied by Picasso and his friends, as they met each night at the cabaret of Les Quatre Gats in Barcelona, reading the journals that featured Steinlen's work.