HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC (1864-1901) P. SESCAU / PHOTOGRAPHE. 1894. 24 1/2x31 1/4 inches, 62 1/4x79 1/2 cm. Condition B+ / B: losses and repaired tears at edges, affecting image; minor staining in image. Mounted on thick board. Matted and framed. Lautrec's inimitable style was not often utilized for advertising commercial items. His posters promoting commercial goods or services were largely for friends and reflect his affection for his colleagues more than a honed marketing instinct, evidenced by this poster for Lautrec's old friend, the photographer Paul Sescau. Sescau was a local character in Montmartre whose sexual appetites were said to rival Lautrec's. Julia Frey cleverly pointed out that, "Sescau . . . who was reputed to use his studio primarily for sexual liaisons is completely hidden under the black cloth of his camera, but the cloth itself dangles between his legs in a long phallus-shape, and the elegant woman of his focus seems to be trying to flee" (Frey p. 422). There is even more to this inside joke between friends. The poster exists in three states. The second state presents the woman (who is most likely Jane Avril) wearing a yellow mask, a symbol of secret love affairs, implying her true motive in visiting Sescau. What Frey overlooks is the poster's second phallus; the lens of the camera itself. This is the second state. Adriani 60, Delteil 353, Adhemar 69, Wittrock P 22 C.
