Dans la glu, plate two from Yvette Guilbert

The influential Post-Impressionist master Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec created the lithograph Dans la glu, plate two from Yvette Guilbert in 1898. This compelling print, rendered using crayon on cream wove paper, employs a sanguine, or reddish-brown, ink that emphasizes the expressive contours and texture characteristic of the artist’s draftsmanship. As a medium, lithography allowed Toulouse-Lautrec to capture the fleeting moments of modern Parisian life with immediacy and flair, making him one of the most significant figures in the history of prints.

The piece belongs to a larger series dedicated to the famous French cabaret singer Yvette Guilbert, a figure central to Toulouse-Lautrec’s sophisticated depictions of the Fin de siècle entertainment industry in France. The specific title, Dans la glu (Caught in the Glue), suggests an evocative scene or atmosphere associated with the singer’s public persona or the restrictive nature of the Parisian society she often mocked.

The work’s technical details include the original paper being carefully hinged at the top corners to a heavier gray-brown wove backing sheet, suggesting a specific twentieth-century presentation style facilitated by the printer, Westminster Press, and the publisher, Ernest Brown & Phillips. The artist's distinctive style and focus on theatricality ensured his permanent place in modern art. As this work dates from 1898, many of Toulouse-Lautrec's pieces are now in the public domain, guaranteeing broad access to his pioneering graphic designs. This impression of the lithograph resides in the esteemed collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, where it is classified as a key example of French printmaking.