At the Concert

At the Concert is a significant print created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec French, 1864-1901, in 1896. This unique work demonstrates the artist’s engagement with innovative printmaking techniques prevalent in late 19th-century France. The unusual materiality of the piece is defined by its substrate: a zinc lithographic plate. This plate was intentionally altered by Lautrec, featuring corners removed and meticulously beveled edges, and was subsequently laid down on a mauve board before being taped to a mat. This unique presentation method highlights the importance of the plate itself as an art object rather than just a tool for reproduction.

Lautrec, renowned for his incisive depictions of Parisian entertainment, captures the atmosphere of a public performance space in At the Concert. As a master of the poster and the lithograph, the artist leveraged the accessibility of graphic prints to circulate his observations widely across France. The classification as a print underscores the graphic nature of the artist's output during this highly experimental period. The unique presentation of this work, housed in the esteemed Art Institute of Chicago collection, offers profound insight into the processes of the Post-Impressionist era. Today, high-resolution images of influential historical prints like this are frequently available through museum and public domain initiatives, ensuring that Lautrec’s pioneering techniques remain accessible to researchers and enthusiasts worldwide.