IF AN era were to be judged solely on its advertising images, then the Belle Epoque would be seen as one of femininity, frivolity and fashion.

The dominating image in this collection of nineteenth century French posters at the Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, is one of graceful and decorative womanhood.

Lautrec, and other artists featured in the exhibition, saw and portrayed women as embodying certain domestic and sensual ideals which twentieth century feminism, the pragmatics of changing roles following world wars and economic realities have altered beyond recall.

And what does the exhibition reveal about men? They occupy a lesser, more shadowy and slightly dubious role, somewhat sinister and voyeuristic - yet with a touch of the comical in caricature. Lautrec, who spent a lot of time sketching street scenes and nightclub life, celebrated women joyously and admiringly, but he and fellow artists seem also to reveal darker proclivities.

When these posters promoting household products and places of entertainment went up on Parisian hoardings, following mid-century advances in printing technology, they must have stopped people in the street, so bold, colourful and vital were they compared to earlier forms.

In the Bowes, the subdued lighting necessary to protect the now fragile paper on which they are printed turns out to be fortuitous because it adds enormously to the effect of the display. High-ceiling spotlights focus light dramatically so that something of the original breathtaking effect is conveyed.

In addition, unlike the convention for paintings, there are no title and detail notes on the walls (these are available on free-standing units) so that the posters are experienced less as museum exhibits, more as eye-catching adverts.

Lautrec is well-known as the artist who turned the poster into an art form. Less well-known in this country are some of the other names. They include Jules Chret, progenitor of the genre who, according to the brochure, "transformed the poster ... from being at best a garish means of advertising a product, through to something that expressed the values and innovations of French art and society of the second half of the nineteenth century."

The earliest examples show that techniques of painterly visual realism were initially transferred to this commerical genre, but the printing medium and the influence of Japanese art gradually led to blocks of colour, simplified forms and line.

Cheret's free and expressive brush strokes tend to convey a sensuous theatricality, while Lautrec's skill as a draughtsman ensured that his figures always convey a sense of character.

Subjects range from advertisements for household lamp oil and milk to carbaret and theatre entertainment, portraying some of the celebrated performers of the day, such as Sarah Bernhardt. Decorative details and the types of scripts used for lettering are other interesting features.

A well-researched and detailed brochure accompanies the exhibition which forms part of the Bowes' continuing and expanding links with French art and artefacts. It continues until March 13. Pru Farrier