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Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec "Woman in a corset" Lithograph

$65,000

"Woman in a corset - Conquest of passage. (Pl. Of the suite Elles)" by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Though very technically capturing a scene in motion, perhaps what is most striking about this arresting piece by Lautrec is the resolute, peaceful sense of still that exudes from the picture plane. A woman, half enshrouded in her discarded garments, stands tall with her back to the viewer, her strong arms gracefully following what appears to be a familiar but elegant ritual of redressing. A male form, identifiable as a patron of the brothel by his top hat, can be found fading into the furnishings of the room, his erect posture and carefully non-descript features solidifying his position as background in the composition. 

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  • Curator's Notes

Item #: ML-20137 
Artist: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec 
Circa: 1896
Country: France 
Dimensions: 20.75" height, 15.75" width (Framed 28.5" height, 23.75" width)
Materials: Lithograph paper, Giltwood gesso frame
Signed: "G. Pellet" and "T. Lautrec" with the stamp of the monogram exceptionally printed in blue, numbered (83) in pencil by the publisher G. Pellet then stamped by him ( Lugt 1193). 
Literature: Delteil 188, Wittrock 164, Adriani 180, Adhémar 209

The Elles series from which this lithograph is from was a financial failure for its publisher, Gustave Pellet, who specialized in erotica - in defiance of expectations of tantalizing and sexually charged brothel scenes, Lautrec instead created sensitive portraits of his subjects in moments of quiet, paying his respect to the interior lives of the women who many times became his friends.
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