HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC (1864-1901) JANE AVRIL. 1893. 49 3/4x36 1/2 inches, 126 1/2x92 3/4 cm. Chaix, Paris. Condition B: vertical repaired tear through poster; restored losses, repaired tears, creases and overpainting in margins and image; scratch in lower left corner. Matted and framed. Lautrec designed three posters promoting Jane Avril's theatrical performances, this one being the first. "The poster offers a fascinating contrast of open and shut, public and private: Avril wears an impassive expression, her eyes closed in concentration, giving the viewer no entrée into her private thoughts; yet she contorts her lower body to display her long, black-stockinged legs and colorful skirts. The looming presence of a musician at the lower right, his hairy hand gripping the neck of the contrabass, suggests the sexual nature of this dance, but Avril seems aloof from licentious overtones" (Montmartre p. 139). The poster appeared on the walls of Paris on June 3, 1893, with text that the printer hastily added announcing her performance at the "Jardin de Paris." This early copy of the poster was saved from this overprinting. Adriani 11, DFP-II 828, Art Nouveau p. 94, Reims 784, Wine Spectator 41, Maitres 1900 p. 49.
