?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 4,000 - $ 6,000
HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC (1864-1901) OSCAR WILDE ET ROMAIN COOLUS. 1896. 12 3/4x19 5/8 inches. Condition A. Japan. Aurelien Lugné-Poë was one of the great French actors and theatrical producers. He founded Paris' Thèâtre de l'Oeuvre, and between 1893 and 1900 his productions contributed greatly to the formation of the modern theatre. For this theatre he called upon the best avant-garde artists to design programs. Not only were Toulouse-Lautrec and other members of the Nabis frequently hired, but Lugné-Poë even managed to get Edvard Munch to design a program during the Norwegian's brief sojourn in Paris. This program advertises two productions: Romain Coolus's Raphaël and Oscar Wilde's Salomé. Wilde's play had been banned in Britain, and the aesthete himself was in jail at the time of this production. The play had its world premiere February 10, 1896, at the Thèâtre de l'Oeuvre. Wilde is depicted against a sketchy outline of the British Houses of Parliament. Adriani 163-IV, Delteil 195 IV, Wittrock 146.
