Plate: EL. 02

"The stars of the turn of the century, were the glory of the Moulin Rouge and figure in Lautrec's work (including 'La Clownesse Cha-U-Kao)… Chauhut-Chaos, the evocative name given the wild dances of the Moulin rouge, was adopted in an oriental version by the performer Cha-U-Kao. She appeared at the Nouveau-Cirque and at the Moulin Rouge as clown, dancer or even acrobat." (Dortu, p.82, 83)

The Elles portfolio
"Lautrec's series Elles (consisting of 10 sheets with a frontispiece and cover) is one of the high points of 19th century art. It was a pictorial to what the artist experienced in the maisons closes (brothels) of Paris. 'They' are 'women to my liking', as he used to say cynically, and he often lived with them for weeks at a time during 1892 to 1895, constant witness of their daily lives, of suffering and intimacy…" (Adriani, p.222)


Fernand Mourlot (1895-1988)

Mourlot Freres
In 1952 the renowned French printer printed this superb series "Elles" for collectors. They are reduced lithographic versions of Lautrec's most famous portfolio. They are truly the most beautiful printing we have been able to find in this size format.

Mourlot Studios was a commercial print shop founded in 1852 by the Mourlot family and located in Paris, France. It was also known as Imprimerie Mourlot, Mourlot Freres and Atelier Mourlot. Founded by Francois Mourlot, it started off producing wallpaper. Later, his son Jules Mourlot would expand the business to handle the production of chocolate labels for companies such as Chocolat Poulain, as well as ledgers, maps and stationary. Starting in the 1920s, Jules' son, Fernand Mourlot, converted one of the locations into a studio dedicated to printing fine art lithography.

As vintage printings of Lautrec's work, in all formats, reach high prices, this mid-century printing offers a superb alternative at a reasonable price that will only appreciate in value.