Henri Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901)
View Artist Biography
Title:
Sescau Photographe
Date:
1951
Size:
9.75" x 12.5"
Medium:
Lithograph
Price:
$275.00
INV. #:
14855
Sescau Photographe; Artist: Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, size 9.75" x 12.5"; acid free archival linen backed; 1950; ready to frame.
In 1891, Toulouse-Lautrec decided to investigate the potential of lithography. Working with Pierre Bonnard's lithographer Ancourt, he learned the craft from the bottom up - and within months, brought it to an unprecedented artistic zenith. He managed to cram some 400 lithographs into the remaining ten years of his life, 31 of which were posters, and all of which were the cream of graphic design. His masterpieces define the limits of poster style: where Jules Chéret epitomizes a completely external, impersonal viewpoint, Toulouse-Lautrec is the embodiment of internal, personal vision with a point to make - not, to be sure, a moral judgment, but rather an amused, wry observation on the passing scene.
Once he became immersed in Paris nightlife, entertainers became his primary subject matter, but he was also known to create portraits and caricatures for many of his friends. He skillfully used lines and color to subtly imply background or props for his characters, and these touches incorporated reality with the already present warmth and charm in his posters.
This is a 4 color lithographed reproduction of Lautrec's 1894 design. This poster was a present from Lautrec to his friend Sescau, of whom he had made a fine portrait, in oils, in 1891. An elephant takes the place of the signature. On some proofs, at top right (below the address, 9 Place Pigalle), there is the figure of a naked woman, wearing stockings, putting a performing dog through its paces. One of these proofs is in the Musee d'Albi.
In 1891, Toulouse-Lautrec decided to investigate the potential of lithography. Working with Pierre Bonnard's lithographer Ancourt, he learned the craft from the bottom up - and within months, brought it to an unprecedented artistic zenith. He managed to cram some 400 lithographs into the remaining ten years of his life, 31 of which were posters, and all of which were the cream of graphic design. His masterpieces define the limits of poster style: where Jules Chéret epitomizes a completely external, impersonal viewpoint, Toulouse-Lautrec is the embodiment of internal, personal vision with a point to make - not, to be sure, a moral judgment, but rather an amused, wry observation on the passing scene.
Once he became immersed in Paris nightlife, entertainers became his primary subject matter, but he was also known to create portraits and caricatures for many of his friends. He skillfully used lines and color to subtly imply background or props for his characters, and these touches incorporated reality with the already present warmth and charm in his posters.
This is a 4 color lithographed reproduction of Lautrec's 1894 design. This poster was a present from Lautrec to his friend Sescau, of whom he had made a fine portrait, in oils, in 1891. An elephant takes the place of the signature. On some proofs, at top right (below the address, 9 Place Pigalle), there is the figure of a naked woman, wearing stockings, putting a performing dog through its paces. One of these proofs is in the Musee d'Albi.