Ducarre at the Ambassadeurs, from Le Café-Concert

Ducarre at the Ambassadeurs, from Le Café-Concert is a significant 1893 work by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, created as a lithograph on ivory wove paper. This influential print captures the dynamic, sometimes gritty, Parisian nightlife of the Fin de Siècle, a primary subject for the French artist. As one of many important prints commissioned during this period, the work exemplifies Toulouse-Lautrec’s innovative approach to graphic arts and documentation of popular culture.

The piece spotlights the singer Ducarre, a popular male entertainer of the era, performing under the harsh gaslight at the famed Ambassadeurs café-concert venue. Toulouse-Lautrec masterfully uses a rapid, expressive line and flat areas of color, focusing intensely on the artificial lighting and candid, sometimes unflattering, portrayal of his subjects. The technical realization involved printing by Edward Ancourt & Cie, and the artwork was issued by the progressive portfolio society L'Estampe originale, which played a crucial role in elevating the status of artistic prints in France during the 1890s.

This particular impression demonstrates Toulouse-Lautrec's characteristic economy of style and deep psychological insight into the world of public performance. Because of its historical and cultural impact, the image is frequently reproduced and often available through public domain initiatives, allowing wide access to its powerful depiction of late 19th-century French entertainment. This seminal work is held in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, where scholars study the evolution of poster and printmaking from this revolutionary era.