The Photographer Sescau

Each week for the duration of the exhibition, we’ll focus on one work of art from Toulouse-Lautrec Illustrates the Belle Époque, on view Feb. 4 through April 30, 2017.

The Photographer Sescau (1896)

Photographer Sescau

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, The Photographer Sescau, 1896. Brush, crayon, and spatter lithograph, printed in five colors. Key stone printed in blue, color stones in red, yellow, and green on wove paper, remarque in black, 23 7⁄8 × 31 ½ in. Private Collection

In 1895 and 1896, Toulouse-Lautrec was taking on more projects from contacts outside the entertainment industry. Friend Paul Sescau commissioned this poster to promote his photography studio at 9 place Pigalle. It shows a woman scurrying away from the man behind the camera, alluding to Sescau’s notoriety as a philanderer. Toulouse-Lautrec only used a horizontal orientation for his posters on six occasions.

Leave a Reply