Adieu from Quatorze lithographies originales (Mélodies de Désiré Dihau)

The print Adieu from Quatorze lithographies originales (Mélodies de Désiré Dihau) is a key graphic work created by French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Executed in 1895, this piece utilizes the medium of lithography, a technique Toulouse-Lautrec famously exploited for its immediacy and expressive potential. The print was conceived as part of an illustrated book project, linking Lautrec’s visual art to the musical compositions of his friend, the bassoonist Désiré Dihau.

This work exemplifies the artist's deep engagement with the culture of the fin de siècle Parisian world, particularly the realms of theater, music, and café society. Toulouse-Lautrec favored lithography because it allowed him to capture candid, often somber, observations of daily life and performance without the idealization typical of traditional painting. His distinctive style, characterized by flattened forms and economical use of line, effectively conveys the mood suggested by the title, Adieu, or farewell.

Although the image was physically produced in 1895, it was formally issued as part of the complete portfolio in 1935, nearly forty years after its creation. This late publication date underscores the retrospective appreciation for Toulouse-Lautrec’s radical contribution to modern prints. His innovative approach to color registration and compositional cropping significantly influenced subsequent generations of graphic artists.

As a masterful example of French printmaking from this pivotal period, this piece is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). The work highlights Toulouse-Lautrec’s role in elevating the status of the commercial print and illustration from ephemera to high art, confirming his place among the most important chroniclers of late 19th-century European culture.