Jane Avril, from "Le Café Concert"

Jane Avril, from "Le Café Concert" is a significant brush and spatter lithograph created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1893. This piece captures the vibrant yet often stark reality of Parisian nightlife and the fin de siècle entertainment industry, focusing on the celebrated can-can dancer Jane Avril.

The work is an important example of the artist’s mastery of the lithographic process. Printed in black ink on delicate laid japan paper, this impression represents the only state and originated specifically from the rare deluxe edition of the 1893 print portfolio. Toulouse-Lautrec utilized an innovative combination of brushwork and the spatter technique, allowing him to achieve dramatic tonal variations and dynamic textures, crucial in depicting the movement and energy of the performer and the shadowy atmosphere of the venues.

Toulouse-Lautrec, renowned for his documentation of women dancers and performers, frequently depicted Avril, recognizing her distinct style and angular, expressive presence. Unlike idealized representations common in earlier art, his prints offer an unflinching, modern portrait of the individual, firmly establishing him as the essential chronicler of the Montmartre café-concert scene. As a definitive work from his graphic output, this print demonstrates the artist's dedication to the medium and the power of line and shadow. The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds this important example of fin de siècle prints in its collection. Because of the work’s age and historical importance, high-resolution scans and related images of Jane Avril, from "Le Café Concert" are sometimes available for access in the public domain.