?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 10,000 - $ 15,000
HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC (1864-1901) LA VACHE ENRAGEE. 1896. 31 1/2x23 inches, 80x58 1/2 cm. Chaix, Paris. Condition B+: repaired tear through lower left margin; unobtrusive vertical and horizontal folds; scratch in image; water stain in lower right margin. Mounted to linen and then mounted to board. La Vache Enragee [The Mad Cow] was a magazine founded by Adolph Willette and edited by Adolphe Roedel. The name comes from the French idiom "manger de la vache enragée," roughly meaning "not having enough to eat." It was advertised as an illustrated monthly magazine, but in fact was only published twice; once in 1896, and then again in 1897. Each publication coincided with the occurrence of a major Monmartre event - the Fête de la Vache Enragée. The Fête was a large street parade and celebration. Conceived as a cynical, ironic, anti-status quo, political and social satire, the vachalcade (as it was referred to by its founders), was intended to celebrate the glory of Montmartre life while raising money to support the Bohemians who inhabited its environs. The parade, a specific parody of the official Parisian Fête de Bouef Gras festival associated with Mardi Gras, consisted of floats including one depicting the "mad cow." Here, Lautrec employs "clear references to Adolphe Willette's humorous themes and rococo style of illustration" (Adriani p. 217). Lautrec captures the spirit of the parade and the magazine itself in a wonderful, allegorical manner. A mad cow is shown chasing Senator René Bérenger through the streets past the amused looks of performers, artists and laborers, with a policeman chasing helplessly. Bérenger was the head of the League against License in the Streets, who spearheaded the arrests of the organizers of a similar street parade in 1893. Lautrec's characters are cascading down the diagonal of the poster in a manner that recalls the work of Jules Chéret. Wittrock P27B, Adriani 165 III, Abdy p. 85, DFP-II 844.
