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Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec "La Troupe de Mademoiselle Églantine" Lithograph
$49,500
In early 1896, Jane Avril traveled to London as part of the Troupe d'Églantine, to perform at the Palace Theatre. A few days before the Troupe took to the London stage, she commissioned a poster from Lautrec back in Paris to advertise the performances. Lautrec described the quartet as an "apotheosis of the Moulin Rouge", which may suggest that he saw them perform at the iconic Montmartre club. Lautrec singled out his friend Avril, placing her at the front of the row of women. While her fellow performers appear in an ordered line, their raised legs at a uniform height, Avril's dance is far freer. Her red hair stands out against her blonde companions.
- Product Details
- Curator's Notes
Item #: ML-20731
Artist: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Country: France
Circa: 1894
Dimensions: 24.4" height, 31.5" width
Materials: Lithograph paper,
Signed: ''with Lautrec’s monogram stamp'
Literature: Delteil 361; Wittrock P21; The French Aesthetic, by Victor Arwas, page 175, and: Posters of the Belle Epoque, The Wine Spectator Collection, by Jack Rennert, p. 49, fig. 43.
Provenance: From the Collection of Galérie Documents owned by Michel Romand. His great grandfather was Edmond Sagot, the legendary print dealer who was among the first to recognize Lautrec in the 1890's. Roman bought the entire Galérie Documents from Charles Joseph Guillemain in the 1960's, who had originally bought the entirety of Sagot's collection, so the purchase by Romand brought everything full circle.
For her distinctive gyrations-- she was nicknamed "La Mélinite" for her high explosive performances. She matched her costume to the dance: black for the waltz, light blue for the polka, and vermilion for the schottische. Jane Avril’s hypnotic dance routines were described as ‘an orchid in a frenzy’.