TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, Henri de
 
Woman Lying in Bed, Waking (Femme couchée); 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 blindstamp 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 completely lacked the standard scandalous or provocative elements the public expected from brothel art, it was considered a major commercial failure when publisher Gustave Pellet first released it. Today, however, it is widely celebrated as one of the ultimate masterpieces of late 19th-century printmaking.
Sheet, 52.1x40.0cm; external, 61.3x48.Framed and glazed with UV-resistant art glass.