Footit and Chocolat (Footit et Chocolat)

Footit and Chocolat (Footit et Chocolat) by French 19th Century; Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec provides a compelling look into the colorful world of Parisian performance art at the close of the 19th century. Created between 1800 and 1899, this print is a lithograph executed in a striking olive green, differentiating it from the more overtly commercial posters for which the artist is best known. The subject features the celebrated comedic duo, the British jockey George Footit and the Afro-Cuban pantomimist Rafael Padilla, known professionally as Chocolat, whose performances were a highlight of venues like the Nouveau Cirque.

Toulouse-Lautrec specialized in capturing the vibrant, often cynical, reality of Parisian nightlife, focusing his lens on performers, dancers, and the patrons of cabarets and circuses. This lithograph exemplifies his mastery of graphic technique; through expressive lines and carefully modulated shadow, he renders the distinctive character and professional relationship between the two artists. The choice of olive green elevates the piece beyond mere documentation, lending a sense of sophisticated melancholy characteristic of the fin-de-siècle aesthetic. Although catalog records sometimes assign this work to the broader period of 1776 to 1800, its style and subject are definitively rooted in the later 19th-century French context.

As a fine art print, the work remains an important record of both the history of entertainment and the evolving role of the graphic arts. Toulouse-Lautrec recognized the power of the medium to reach a wider audience, and the dissemination of his prints established his reputation far beyond the confines of traditional painting. Due to the age of the piece, this work often resides within the public domain, allowing for extensive study of the master’s technique. This powerful depiction of the clowning pair is preserved today in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art.