HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC (1864-1901) TROUPE DE MLLE EGLANTINE. 1896. 24 1/8x31 1/2 inches, 61x80 cm. Condition A: minor creases in image. Paper. Matted and framed. Lautrec designed this poster after a written request from his friend Jane Avril and her co-performer Eglantine. Writing on January 19, 1896, they asked him to design a poster for their appearance at the Palace Theatre in London, charging him to design it "as you think best," leaving the art to him, but requested that the performers appear in a certain order, and then requested that the theatre name not be printed, so they could use the poster for another appearance. Lautrec designed the image based on a photograph he had of the four dancers, who appear in the finished lithograph in the requested order: Eglantine, Jane Avril, Cléopatre and Gazelle. The women are depicted performing the Quadrille Naturaliste. The dance had become world famous after it was performed at the Moulin Rouge, and in England a British producer dubbed the dance the "French Can Can." Lautrec clearly appreciated these commissions he got from friends, and in return, infused the poster with his own personal inspiration. He bathes the dancers in the yellow glow of the stage lights, and uses the wooden planks of the stage to highlight the diagonal layout of the image. Their darkly clad legs emerging from the large white expanse of their petticoats was both alluring and risqué. Witrock P21C, Adriani 162-III, DFP-II 850, Maitres 1900 p. 49, Wine Spectator 43 and cover.
