HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC (1864-1901) TROUPE DE MLLE ÉGLANTINE. 1896. 23 1/2x31 inches, 59 3/4x78 3/4 cm. Condition B+: minor restored losses, repaired tears and creases at edges; toned overall. Matted and framed. Lautrec designed this poster in response to a request from his friend Jane Avril and her co-performer Églantine. Writing on January 19, 1896, they asked him to design an image 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 that the theater 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: Églantine, 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, Encyclopedie de l'Affiche p. 223, DFP-II 850, Maitres 1900 p. 49, Devynck p. 83 (var), Wine Spectator 43 and cover.
