Toulouse-Lautrec

HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC (France, 1864–1901).
“Tristan Bernard.”
Drypoint engraving on paper.
Monogram on the plate.
Measurements: 16 x 10 cm (plate); 25 x 20 cm (paper).

This drypoint engraving depicts the writer and playwright Tristan Bernard, one of the most prominent figures in late 19th-century Parisian intellectual life and a close friend of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

Although universally known for his famous lithographic posters for the Moulin Rouge and other Parisian entertainment venues, Toulouse-Lautrec was also highly active as a draftsman and printmaker. He mastered various techniques, including lithography and drypoint, using printmaking as a preferred medium for experimenting with formal synthesis and the expressiveness of the line.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was one of the most important artists of Post-Impressionism and a key figure in European modernity. Trained in Paris under Léon Bonnat and Fernand Cormon, he found his primary source of inspiration in the bohemian atmosphere of Montmartre. A painter, draftsman, illustrator, and printmaker, he revolutionized the art poster and lithography through a synthetic style influenced by Japanese art and characterized by the strength of his lines, the spontaneity of his drawing, and an extraordinary ability to capture the movement and psychology of his subjects. His depictions of dancers, singers, actors, and figures from Parisian nightlife have become icons of the Belle Époque. His work is held in major museums around the world, including the Musée d’Orsay, the Musée Toulouse-Lautrec in Albi, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Art Institute of Chicago.