Jeanne Granier from Portraits of Actors and Actresses: Thirteen Lithographs (Portraits d'Acteurs & Actrices: Treize Lithographies)

Jeanne Granier from Portraits of Actors and Actresses: Thirteen Lithographs (Portraits d'Acteurs & Actrices: Treize Lithographies) is a significant work by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, created in 1898. This specific piece is one from a complete portfolio of thirteen original lithographs dedicated to documenting the leading figures of Parisian theater and stage during the fin de siècle.

The medium of lithography allowed Toulouse-Lautrec to capture the fleeting intensity and psychological depth of his subjects with a graphic immediacy unavailable in painting. The resulting print showcases the artist’s characteristic economical line work, influenced heavily by Japanese ukiyo-e prints, focusing attention on the sitter’s expression and posture rather than intricate scenic detail.

The subject, Jeanne Granier (1852-1939), was a renowned French actress of the Belle Époque, famous for her work in operettas and comedies. Granier was one of thirteen prominent stage figures documented in the portfolio Portraits d'Acteurs & Actrices. This collection, commissioned near the end of the artist's life, represents a mature phase in his graphic career, wherein he sought to create definitive character studies rather than illustrative advertisements. Toulouse-Lautrec specialized in capturing the personalities and unguarded moments of performers, moving beyond simple portraiture to offer a keen study of the individual and the cultural milieu they represented.

The entire series, produced in 1898, serves as an essential visual catalog of the late 19th-century theatrical world and exemplifies the artist’s mastery of modern printmaking. This work resides in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). As a historic and pivotal artwork, high-resolution prints and images of this seminal Toulouse-Lautrec piece are often available in the public domain for scholarly research and appreciation.