55x37 1/2 inches, 139 3/4x95 1/4 cm. Edw. Ancourt, Paris. Condition B+: rippling in margins and image; repaired tears at top and bottom, slightly into text and image; minor creases in margins and image; slight time-staining and water stain at edges. Two-sheets. Mounted on thin linen.
Bruant and Lautrec shared a mutual admiration for each other, and Bruant was the first performer to ask Lautrec to design a poster for him. The result is one of the simplest and most powerful music hall posters ever designed. Created with the primary colors and Lautrec's cherished green, it depicts Bruant in his signature black hat, red scarf and black cape, coming out of the wings, where we can see three lights and the black shadow of a stagehand. At Bruant's insistence the poster was plastered all over Paris, despite the theater manager's intense dislike of it (he referred to it as "a revolting mess"). The bold, forceful design of the cabaret star captures the performer's famed arrogance. Bruant went on to become Lautrec's biggest client, commissioning three other posters from him. The poster was drawn on two stones, but "with some impressions printed on one and some on two sheets of paper" (Adriani p. 23). Adriani 3, Delteil 343, Wittrock P4, Maitres 1900 p. 48, Wine Spectator 46.
