Eccentric Dance

Eccentric Dance is a lithograph on ivory wove paper created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec French, 1864-1901 in 1894. Classified as a print, this artwork exemplifies the artist's dedication to documenting the vibrant, often raw, nightlife of 19th-century Paris. As a master of graphic arts and the artistic poster, Toulouse-Lautrec utilized the lithographic medium extensively, a technique perfectly suited for capturing the immediacy and energy of the entertainment venues of France.

Executed during a highly prolific period of the artist’s career, this piece showcases Lautrec’s characteristic economy of line and sharp observation. He often focused his attention on the performers, dancers, and bohemian patrons of Montmartre, using the flat color planes and simplified forms of lithography to convey movement and character. The subject of Eccentric Dance likely portrays a moment of spontaneous, perhaps improvised, movement observed in a Parisian cabaret or dance hall, reflecting the era’s fascination with unconventional bodily expression.

This work draws parallels with the composition and style of Japanese ukiyo-e prints, which heavily influenced the Post-Impressionists, notably in the unusual cropping and bold outlines. While much of the artist's fame rests on his large-scale posters, smaller format prints such as this provide intimate and detailed insights into his consummate draughtsmanship. This fine impression is preserved in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, where it serves as a key example of French graphic work exploring fin-de-siècle society.