Plate: TL. 5

"The Montmartre chansonnier turned restaurateur, ARISTIDE BRUANT, was a strong, imposing personality, and in the several posters of him Toulouse-Lautrec conveys this by letting him dominate the picture completely, with virtually nothing else to distract our attention, and with Bruant's characteristic red scarf, hat and walking stick adding impact to the image...this design was seen by Bruant as a masterpiece, but the manager of the Ambassadeurs rejected it as too brutally frank and unflattering; the only way the performer could get it accepted was by warning the manager that he would not appear on stage unless there was a copy on either side of the proscenium, and unless the whole of Paris was plastered with further copies"(Wine Spectator 46) The singer used the poster, with the image reversed, to advertise his appearance at the Eldorado.

"One of the most imposing poster images of all time. The singer dominates the poster with as much authority as he commanded on stage. The thrust and power are achieved by fine draftsmanship, excellent colours and bold composition"(Rennert, PAI-XXI, 433)

During the 1960s the renowned French printer, Mourlot Freres, printed this superb series "Les Affiches de Toulouse-Lautrec" for collectors. They are reduced lithographic versions of Lautrec's most famous works. They are truly the most beautiful printing we have been able to find in this size format.

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.