"This monumental charcoal drawing of a dance scene with La Goulue
and Valentine was the outcome of a prestigious commission from Charles
Zidler, the impresario responsible for the shows at the Moulin Rouge,
to design a poster (Lautrec's first) for the beginning of the Autumn
season of 1891 (Moulin Rouge Poster)
By making full use of Cheret's
discoveries in printing techniques, while at the same time adapting
them to a completely new stylistic concept, making no concessions
to public taste. (Cheret's Moulin Rouge)
Lautrec liked the idea of being Cheret's rival in an area which had
for long been closed to him for lack of commissions, but which, if
he was successful, could bring him far more public recognition and
widespread influence than even his occasional magazine illustrations
had done (see Le Rire).
His astonishing and immediate mastery in the field of printed graphics
can be attributed to the fact that Lautrec only turned to this medium
(posters) at a stage in his career when his artistic skills were
fully mature, and his assured draftsmanship allowed him to experiment
on the lithographic stone as he wished. The spontaneous effect of
the Moulin Rouge Poster which
caused such amazement among critics and passers-by when it was posted
on hoardings and walls, as well as indoors, was the result of painstaking
preparatory work and detail studies. These culminated in the present
charcoal sketch which established the final form and dimen-sions
of the poster in all details" (Adriani
47)
Read the full story: A study
in three parts;
"The Dancer", "The Venue", and "The Poster"
Final Poster (printed in 1891) sold for
$ 241,500 US (The highest price ever paid for a vintage advertising
poster) Poster Auctions International, N.Y. Nov. 1999.
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.
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