Lithograph printed in black on Chine volant, 1899. 518x363 mm; 20 3/8x14 1/4 inches (sheet), full margins. First state (of 2). Edition of approximately 100. Printed by Stern, Paris. Published by Pierrefort, Paris. A superb, dark impression with strong contrasts.
Toulouse-Lautrec created this lithograph (also published in an edition of 110 in colors), along with three other equestrian racing subjects, while undergoing treatment at a private psychiatric hospital at Neuilly for his worsening health, hallucinations and severe depression. These were likely intended to be published altogether as a larger series, as suggested by the printer Stern, but never came to fruition as a result of the artist's sickness. Delteil 279; Adhémar 365; Adriani 345.
