HENRI TOULOUSE-LAUTREC (1864-1901) LA REVUE BLANCHE. 1895. 50 3/8x36 1/4 inches. Edw. Ancourt, Paris. Condition A: two sheets. Framed. The Revue Blanche was an avant-garde magazine founded by the Natanson brothers. Contributors included France's best writers, musicians, artists and poets, who also comprised the literary circle associated with the magazine, a group whom Marcel Proust referred to as "the epitome of society life." Misia Natanson, the wife of one of the founders, was the muse for the entire group. Renowned as a brilliant, charming and beautiful woman she was a source of inspiration for Pierre Bonnard, Jacques Villon and Felix Valloton, and others. Both Pierre Bonnard (see lot 68) and Toulouse-Lautrec were asked to design a poster promoting the magazine and they both chose Misia, the living incarnation of the spirit of the Revue Blanche, as their subject. Lautrec's image is uncharacteristically soft and endearing, representing Misia skating. Some people have suggested that Lautrec had fallen in love with her, which would explain this rare, tender portrait. The fact that he depicts her without showing her legs lends the image a strange, unbalanced feeling, which adds to the mystery of the poster. DFP-I 835, Adriani 130, Delteil 355, Gold 92.
