Artist: Toulouse-Lautrec French (1864-1901)
Title: Polaire
Plate: LR 8
Original page from the satirical weekly magazine "Le Rire"
Printed in Paris 23/2/1895.
Presented in 16 x 20 in. acid free, archival museum mat, with framing labels. Ready to frame. Shipped boxed flat via Fedex.
Certificate of Authenticity.
Sheet Size: 9 in x 12 in 23 cm x 31 cm
Price: Temporarily out of stock
I can usually source this poster. If you are interested please contact me. Greg"We hardly need to be told that Polaire was a striking presence on stage. She was Emilie Bouchard (1877-1939), originally from Algiers, who was from all accounts quite a character. Endowed by nature with a rather generous bust, she ignored the Victorian dress code which demanded that woman conceal their breasts as much as possible, and refused to wear the confining corsets, hence she tended to stand out conspicuously, and it is not beyond conjecture that this may have been at least partly responsible for her entry into show business as a cafe singer at the age of 15. To her credit, she made the most of the opportunity, and seized the first chance to perform in a stage production. There, she surprised everyone by revealing herself as a sensitive and intelligent comedienne, and within a year was playing soubrette leads in comedies" (Wine Spectator 184)
Lautrec has absolutely captured the essence that is Polaire in this, one of his most magnificent, rendering for Le Rire.
Speaking to her audience Polaire says provocatively, "You!...Old Gentleman, once known from Paimpol to Sebastopol (a reference to the Crimean War), so short of breath, could you kindly take care of the stars and…Polaire?" (text bottom right)