Folder for Frontispiece of Elles

The lithograph Folder for Frontispiece of Elles by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, created in 1896, serves as the crucial introductory element for his celebrated album, Elles. This portfolio represents a landmark achievement in modern printmaking, offering a revolutionary and intimate look into the lives of women residing in the maisons closes (brothels) of late 19th-century Paris, France. Toulouse-Lautrec, a prodigious lithographer, utilized the complex process of printing to achieve the delicate textures, flat color planes, and expressive, rapidly drawn lines that defined his signature aesthetic.

Lautrec’s unique approach in this iconic series was to focus on the private, daily routines of the subjects—moments of dressing, rest, or companionship—thus avoiding the sensationalism often associated with depictions of sex workers during the period. The choice of the print medium allowed Toulouse-Lautrec to circulate his images widely, profoundly influencing the graphic arts movement of the Fin de siècle. The album’s format, dependent on technical proficiency in stone lithography, cemented his reputation as one of the era’s foremost masters of prints.

The inclusion of the folder in the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection highlights the historical significance of the complete Elles suite as a document of Parisian social history and artistic innovation. This work illustrates the capacity of lithography to convey sophisticated pictorial concepts. Given the historical importance of such fine prints, many pieces related to the Elles series are now widely studied and available through public domain archives for scholarly research.