Cover for Yvette Guilbert is a significant 1894 lithograph created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec French, 1864-1901, capturing one of the defining celebrities of fin-de-siècle Paris. The print was executed on gray-brown wove paper and subsequently laid down on board, a method characteristic of commercial lithography used widely for posters and covers in France during the period.
The artwork functions primarily as a design related to the chanteuse Yvette Guilbert, a popular star of the café-concert circuit whom Toulouse-Lautrec famously documented throughout her career. This piece exemplifies the artist’s mastery of the medium, utilizing the quick, graphic qualities of lithography to create powerful outlines and simplified forms that translated effectively across popular media. The choice of the print classification allowed 1864-1901 to widely distribute his images, cementing his influence on both fine art and commercial design.
This specific impression details the artist’s unique approach to portraiture, focusing on the expressive character of the performer rather than mere idealized depiction. The work provides critical insight into the visual culture of the 1890s, where performers and artists collaborated to shape public perception through reproducible prints. This piece is held in the prestigious collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. As a crucial artifact from a master of the poster medium, Toulouse-Lautrec’s influential prints often fall into the public domain, ensuring ongoing global access to his seminal depictions of modern French life.
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