21¾x25½ inches, 55¼x64¾ cm. Edw. Ancourt, Paris. Condition A-: small abrasion at top right edge; minor creases in image and along vertical fold; small unobtrusive stain in right image; slight time-staining at edges; margins trimmed; colors slightly attenuated. Hand-signed and numbered 95 in pencil. Paper, hinged at top to mat. Framed.
One of 100 signed and numbered copies. For the cover of issue 1 of L'Estampe Originale, Lautrec portrays one of his muses, Jane Avril, standing in the Ancourt & Cie. printing shop, while the printer is hard at work behind her. Publisher and art dealer André Marty "intended to publish ten original graphics 'by the elite of today's young artists' every quarter with L'Estampe Originale, in an edition of 100, for an annual subscription price of 150 francs. By the beginning of 1895, he had published altogether 95 prints by [74] artists in this way" (Adriani p. 32). Marty's ambitious project aimed to elevate all of the different printing methods in the eyes of the art world, and he employed artists such as Gauguin, Renoir, Pissarro, Whistler and Bonnard in proving his point. Uniquely, this publication brought the master printers themselves to the forefront, in addition to the artists; here Lautrec spotlights Père Cotelle, with whom he fostered a close working relationship throughout his career.
Delteil 17, Adhémar 10, Wittrock 3, Adriani 9, Stein and Karshan 84, The Met 22.82.1-1.
