At the Ambassadeurs—Singer at the Café-concert, from the sixth album of L'Estampe originale

At the Ambassadeurs—Singer at the Café-concert, from the sixth album of L'Estampe originale is a significant work by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French (1864-1901), executed in 1894. This vibrant color lithograph on ivory wove paper showcases Lautrec's technical mastery of the printmaking medium. The work was published as part of the influential album L'Estampe originale, a curated monthly series designed to promote original graphic art and elevate prints to the status of fine art at the end of the 19th century.

The subject captures a quintessential scene of Parisian nightlife: a singer performing on stage at the famed Ambassadeurs café-concert. Lautrec was deeply fascinated by the gritty energy and artificial glamour of these public venues, creating unflinching portraits of the performers and patrons that defined the era. The composition utilizes simplified forms and bold, flat areas of color, a signature style influenced by Japanese woodblock prints and highly suited for the poster medium and other commercial prints of the time. This focus on modern, often peripheral figures cemented Lautrec’s reputation as the foremost chronicler of fin-de-siècle France.

As a key example of the artist’s graphic output, this print highlights the commercial and artistic potential of the color lithograph. The immediacy and expressiveness evident in the depiction of the performer underline Lautrec’s innovative approach to modern art and printmaking. This important work, classified formally as a print, resides in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, offering scholars and the public access to one of the defining graphic achievements of the 1890s.