Toulouse-Lautrec Reinterprets Degas

Posted on February 16, 2017 by Experiment Station

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.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, At the Ambassadeurs, Singer at the Café-Concert, 1894. Crayon, brush and spatter lithograph, printed in six colors. Key stone printed in olive green, color stones in yellow, beige-gray, salmon pink, black, and blue on wove paper. Only state, 12 × 9 3/4 in. Private collection

At the Ambassadeurs, Singer at the Café-Concert (1894)

“Degas has encouraged me by saying my work this summer wasn’t too bad. I’d like to believe it.”
—Toulouse-Lautrec to his mother, 1891

Degas comparison_thumbnail size_Mlle Bécat at the Café des Ambassadeurs degas

Edgar Degas, Mademoiselle Bécat at the Café des Ambassadeurs, 1877/85. Pastel over lithograph, 9 1/16 x 7 7/8 in. Thaw Collection. Pierpont Morgan Library Dept. of Drawings and Prints

Taking inspiration from an artist he admired, Toulouse-Lautrec reinterpreted Edgar Degas’s Mlle Bécat at the Café des Ambassadeurs as a moment glimpsed from behind the scenes. He reversed the position of the singer and placed all of the action within the upper half of the composition. For light and atmosphere, he covered the key stone in crayon and added layers of tone with brushed ink and spatter. This lithograph appeared in the sixth L’Estampe originale album of April–June 1894.

What are the similarities and differences you find most striking between the two works? If you were to reinterpret Toulouse-Lautrec’s At the Ambassadeurs, Singer at the Café-Concert, what would you change?

The Photographer Sescau

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Experiment Station

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)

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.

Open Call for Toulouse-Lautrec Inspired Posters

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Experiment Station

Along with the opening weekend of special exhibition Toulouse-Lautrec Illustrates the Belle Époque, we kicked off a poster contest inspired by the artist. We want to see your modern-day creations using the exhibition as a jumping off point. We’ll display the top five posters at April’s Phillips after 5 (in custom frames—thanks Framebridge!), plus print and distribute the winning poster to attendees. Did we mention there’s also a $200 cash prize? With representatives from the Phillips, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, and A Creative DC, our panel of judges will evaluate submissions from a variety of perspectives and expertise.

Read the full call for entry here. Nothing beats a visit to the exhibition for some in-person inspiration, but here are some detail shots from the posters and prints in the show to get your wheels turning.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, The Simpson Chain (detail), 1896. Brush, crayon, and spatter lithograph, printed in three colors. Key stone printed in blue, color stones in red and yellow on wove paper, 32 5⁄8 × 47 1/4 in. Private Collection

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jane Avril (detail), 1893. Brush and spatter lithograph. Key stone printed in olive green on wove paper. Unrecorded trial proof, 47 5⁄8 × 34 5⁄8 in. Private collection

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Le Tocsin (detail), 1895. Brush and spatter lithograph, printed in two colors. Key stone before text printed in blue with a turquoise-green tint stone on wove paper, 22 1/2 × 17 13⁄16 in.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, May Belfort (detail), 1895. Crayon, brush, and spatter lithograph, printed in five colors. Key stone printed in olive green, color stones in red, black, gray, and yellow on wove paper, 31 5⁄16 × 24 in. Private collection

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Divan Japonais (detail, 1892–1893. Crayon, brush, spatter, and transferred screen lithograph, printed in four colors. Key stone printed in olive green, color stones in black, yellow, and red on wove paper, 31 3/4 × 23 15⁄16 in.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Moulin Rouge, La Goulue (detail), 1891. Brush and spatter lithograph, printed in four colors. Key stone printed in black, color stones in yellow, red, and blue on three sheets of wove paper, 75 3⁄16 × 46 1⁄6 in. Private collection

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Old Song (detail), 1898, crayon lithograph, printed in black with a beige tint stone on laid paper. Only state, first edition, Yvette Guilbert album, plate 5, 11 9⁄16 × 9 9⁄16 in.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Ambassadeurs, Aristide Bruant (detail), 1892. Brush and spatter lithograph, printed in five colors. Key stone printed in olive green, color stones in orange, red, blue and black on two sheets of wove paper, 52 15⁄16 × 36 5⁄8 in. Private collection

Images at top, from left to right: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Moulin Rouge, La Goulue, 1891. Brush and spatter lithograph, printed in four colors. Key stone printed in black, color stones in yellow, red, and blue on three sheets of wove paper, 75 3⁄16 × 46 1⁄6 in. Private collection; Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, The Simpson Chain, 1896. Brush, crayon, and spatter lithograph, printed in three colors. Key stone printed in blue, color stones in red and yellow on wove paper, 32 5⁄8 × 47 1/4 in. Private Collection; Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jane Avril, 1893. Brush and spatter lithograph, printed in five colors. Key stone printed in olive green, color stones in yellow, orange, red, and black on wove paper, 48 13⁄16 × 36 in. Private collection