Emilienne d'Alençon, from Treize Lithographies

Emilienne d'Alençon, from Treize Lithographies by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec French, 1864-1901, is a quintessential example of late 19th-century graphic art, demonstrating the artist’s mastery of the reproductive medium. This print, created in 1898, was executed as a lithograph on ivory laid paper, a medium Lautrec utilized extensively to capture the fleeting moments and personalities of Parisian nightlife.

Produced during the height of the Belle Époque in France, the piece serves as a portrait of Emilienne d'Alençon, one of the era’s most recognizable dancers and social figures. Lautrec often focused his work on the entertainers and characters of Montmartre, immersing himself in the cabarets and theaters. Unlike formal portraiture, this piece emphasizes graphic immediacy and expressive line work, highlighting the sophisticated yet often gritty reality of the fin-de-siècle world.

The texture of the ivory laid paper adds nuance to the delicate grayscale tones inherent in the lithographic process. Lautrec consistently documented the complex social strata of the Parisian stage, using the accessibility of prints to widely distribute his vision. This particular work, Emilienne d'Alençon, belongs to a set of influential prints that defined the artist's lasting legacy. As a critical piece of graphic design history from 1898, the work is preserved in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, making the study of the French master available through the museum’s public domain resources.