Divan Japonais

Divan Japonais is a celebrated color lithograph created in 1893 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864-1901). As one of the most iconic prints associated with the Parisian fin-de-siècle, this work served as an advertisement for the Montmartre café-concert of the same name. Toulouse-Lautrec masterfully utilized the relatively new medium of color lithography, enabling vibrant, saturated colors and bold compositional choices that captured the immediacy and energy of modern nightlife in France.

The composition is striking for its use of flat planes of color, heavy contour lines, and an unconventional cropping derived from Japanese woodblock prints, a popular influence at the time. Toulouse-Lautrec positioned the viewer behind three identifiable figures seated in the audience. The piece is instantly recognizable by the figure on the right, the dancer Jane Avril, characterized by her flamboyant red hat and distinctive posture. On the stage, visible only by her distinctively long, black gloves, is the performer Yvette Guilbert, whose dramatic presence dominates the upper register despite her partial exclusion from the frame.

This classification as a print, specifically a color lithograph on cream wove paper, highlights the artist's crucial role in elevating poster design from mere commercial necessity to high art. Produced in an era when fine art prints were becoming widely accessible, the popularity of works like Divan Japonais ensured the widespread recognition of Toulouse-Lautrec’s distinctive style and his ability to render individual personalities with succinct precision. This important impression is housed in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, offering a definitive example of the artist’s essential contribution to modern graphic arts.