TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, Henri de
 
Couverture; published by, The Toulouse-Lautrec Circle, London in 1969.
 
Description
 
Colour lithograph on handmade Lana wove paper. Hand numbered 1179/1250 in pencil to the lower right margin, alongside the embossed blind stamp of the Toulouse-Lautrec Circle. Watermarked ‘TL 1969’ along the lower left edge. A fine example, without fading or colour loss.
Printed using a multi-stone lithographic overlay on handmade paper from the historic Papeterie de Lana mills in France.
Unlike the sensationalised, highly eroticized portrayals of brothel life common in 19th-century popular media, Toulouse-Lautrec actually moved into various Parisian brothels for weeks at a time to capture the everyday reality of the women working there.
Ironically, because the portfolio lacked the scandalous and provocative elements the public had expected, it was considered a major commercial failure when publisher Gustave Pellet first released it. Today, however, the suite is widely celebrated as one of the masterpieces of the late 19th-century.
Sheet, 52.1x40.0cm; external, 61.3x48cm.
Framed and glazed with UV-resistant art glass.