Jules Cheret was born in Paris to a poor but creative family of artisans. At age thirteen, he began a three-year apprenticeship with a lithographer and then his interest in painting led him to take an art course at the Ecole Nationale de Dessin. He was trained in lithography in London, England, from 1859 and 1866, where he was strongly influenced by the British approach to poster design and printing. Upon returning to France, influenced by the scenes of frivolity depicted in the works of Jean-Honore Fragonard and other Rococo artists, Cheret created vivid poster ads for the cabarets, music halls, and theaters. Eventually he became a major advertising force, adding the railroad companies and a number of manufacturing businesses to his client list.

As his work became more popular and his large posters displaying modestly free-spirited females found a larger audience, pundits began calling him the "father of the women's liberation." Females had previously been depicted in art as prostitutes or puritans. The women of Cheret's posters, joyous, elegant and lively - 'Cherettes', as they were popularly called - were neither. It was freeing for the women of Paris, and lead to a noticeably more open atmosphere in Paris where women were able to engage in formerly taboo activities, such as wearing low-cut bodices and smoking in public.

Jules Cheret retired to the pleasant climate of the French Riviera in Nice and died in 1932 at the age of ninety-six. He was awarded the Legion d'honneur by the French Government in 1890 for his outstanding contributions to the graphic arts. Although his paintings earned him a certain respect, it was his work creating advertising posters, taken on just to pay his bills but eventually his dedication, for which he is remembered today. Over the years, Cheret's posters became much sought after by collectors from around the world.