?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000
RENÉ HERMAN-PAUL (1864-1940) TOURNOI FRANCO-ITALIEN. 1895. 30 1/4x24 1/4 inches. Edw. Ancourt, Paris. Condition B: restored losses, restoration and overpainting in margins; repaired tears in margins affecting image. Hermann-Paul studied at the Academie Jullian, where he most likely met Pierre Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard and Felix Valloton, and began a prolific career as a caricaturist and illustrator in a strongly anti-bourgeois vein. He often exhibited with the Nabis<> and was one of the pioneers in utilizing lithography as a medium for their style. Hermann-Paul created very few posters, being primarily known for his albums of prints. Of his limited, known poster designs this is not only the most spectacular, but also one of the masterpieces of Japanese-influenced French avant-garde. It has been compared, compositionally, to Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's Moulin Rouge, but it is, in fact, far more elaborate. Lautrec provides a frontal view of La Goulue , whereas Hermann-Paul employs brilliant perspective by positioning the viewer off to the right side, looking down at the scene. The sense of perspective is further heightened by the angles created by the dark row of spectators and the pink carpet. Further embellishing the bold design are the two fencers, formed by the white of the paper, the nearer one dramatically being cut below the waist. Combined with the typography, the hand drawn letters have the usual Nabis<> nonchalance, this is one of the most daring mise en pages ever done. The Circle of Toulouse-Lautrec 29, Wine Spectator, pl. 62.
