ART & ARTISTS

Monday, 15 August 2011

Toulouse-Lautrec - part 4

1885 Self-portrait

This is part 4 a 4-part post on the works of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, and takes a look at his commercial work.

Toulouse-Lautrec's posters of the 1890s established him as the father of the modern large-scale poster. His best posters were those advertising the appearance of various performers at the Montmartre cabarets, such as the singer May Belfort, the female clown Cha-U-Kao, and Loïe Fuller of the Folies-Bergère.

Between 1891 and 1899, Toulouse-Lautrec released a total of thirty posters advertising Montmartrois people, places, publications, and performances. Aristide Bruant, May Belfort, and Jane Avril were only a few of the performers portrayed in his works. He also featured such personages as the comedian Caudieux, English singer May Milton, cyclist Jimmy Michael, actress Marthe Mellot, and even the emperor Napoleon in posters during his last decade.

1893 Jane Avril at the Jardin de Paris

1892 Les Ambassadeurs, Aristide Bruant

1892 Reine de Joie

1893 Aristide Bruant

1893 Aristide Bruant, Dans son Cabaret

1893 Caudieux

1893 Confetti

1893 Wraparound cover for the portfolio L'estampe originale

1893 Programme for the theatre play La Missionnaire

1893 Le Coiffeur- Programme Du Theatre Libre

1893 Le Matin/ Au Pied de l'Echafaud

1894 La Taureaumachie

1895 May Belfort

1895 May Milton

1895 Un Monsieur et une Dame, Programme Pour L'Argent

1896 Christmas card

1896 Elles

1896 L'Artisan Moderne

1896 P. Sescau

1896 The Ault and Wiborg Co

1896 Troupe de Mlle Eglantine

1896 Exposition Internationale d'Affiches

1897 Divan Japonais

1897 La Revue Blanche

1899 Jane Avril

1899 Theatre Antoine La Gitane de Richepin

1900 La Châine Simpson

Friday, 12 August 2011

Toulouse-Lautrec - part 3

This is part 3 of a 4-part post on the life and works of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. For biographical notes and paintings see parts 1 and 2 also.

Toulouse-Lautrec’s artistic reputation was secured in the 1890s with the wide dissemination of more than 350 lithographic prints in the form of advertising posters and illustrations for books, newspapers and reviews. The technique assumed an importance in his oeuvre equal to painting, and he relished its spontaneity. Experimenting widely with tones and textures, and developing a distinctive yet subtle handling of colour, Lautrec revolutionised the process of lithography, becoming one of the greatest exponents of the art.

Lithographs, literally, ‘stone drawings,’ are based on the principle that water and oil repel one another. To create a lithographic print, the artist draws on a hard, flat surface – usually limestone – with an oil-based material such as lithographic crayon, which is then chemically ‘fixed.’ Next, the stone is washed with water, which covers the blank areas but is repelled from the image. The greasy printing ink is rolled over the stone, adhering only to the image, while the ink is repelled by the blank wet areas. Finally, paper is laid on the surface and pressure is applied to create the lithographic print, which is a mirror image of the original drawing. Colour lithographs simply repeat this process with multiple stones, each dedicated to a different colour.

1891 Moulin Rouge - La Goulue

Lautrec’s first lithograph, Moulin Rouge: La Goulue, used four separate stones and inks: black, yellow, red, and blue. Additional colours were created by the layering of these colours, as may be seen in the purplish tones of the foreground figure, and the greenish hues seen on the floorboards. Lautrec also used the technique known as crachis (spatter), which creates mists of color, similar to the effects of airbrushing. This effect may be achieved by either shaking a brush over a sieve, or by running a knife along the edge of a brush to cause the paint to spray. Lautrec’s poster uses three separate sheets of paper to create an image that is almost two meters high and over a meter wide, dwarfing the size of traditional posters of the period and adding to the advertisement’s bold tones and graphic style.

1895 The Irish American Bar, Rue Royale, Paris

The Irish American bar in the Rue Royale in Paris was a favourite haunt for the English and Irish jockeys and trainers, and the coachmen, who lived in Paris at this time. It was also frequented by music-hall artistes like Footit and Chocolat. Perhaps one of its most famous, or infamous, clients was Tom the florid coachman to the Rothschilds. Tom was a favourite subject for Lautrec, not least because he always managed to appear even more aristocratic and supercilious than his employers.

1899 Le Jockey

This was one of Toulouse-Lautrec's last lithographs. The publisher Pierrefort intended to issue a portfolio with a racing theme, but Toulouse-Lautrec was suffering acute alcoholic collapse at this time and this was the only print of the set that was completed. Three further works from the proposed series survive, but only one of these approaches a finished state. The Jockey was issued in two editions, first as a monochrome lithograph, and secondly in a colour version with the addition of five new colour stones.

1892 At the Moulin Rouge, La Goulue and her Sister

1892 The Englishman at the Moulin Rouge

1893 A la Gaieté Rochechouart, Nicolle

1893 Antoine et Gemier, Danse une Faillite

1893 Ducarre aux Ambassadeurs

1893 Un Redoute Au Moulin Rouge

1894 Brandés et Leloir, Dans Cabotins

1894 Judic

1894 La Tige - Moulin Rouge

1895 Cecy Loftus

1895 Mademoiselle Marcelle Lender en buste

1895 Lender et Auguez, dans la Chanson de Fortunio

1895 Napoleon

1895 Yahne dans sa loge

1895 Zimmerman et sa Machine

1896 Femme en Corset, Conquête de Passage

1897 La Charrette Anglaise

1897 Elsa La Viennoise

1898 L’Automobiliste

1898 Yvette Guilbert - Menilmontant

Wednesday, 10 August 2011

Toulouse-Lautrec - part 2

This is part 2 of a 4-part post on the works of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. For biographical notes and earlier works see part 1 also. Part three will feature his lithographs.