Lender and Lavalliere (Lender et Lavallière)

Lender and Lavalliere (Lender et Lavallière) is a significant lithograph created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1895. This work, executed in an elegant olive green ink, captures a private moment shared between two recognizable figures of the Parisian stage, Marcelle Lender and Jane Lavallière. As a leading figure in French printmaking during the fin-de-siècle, Toulouse-Lautrec employed the lithographic medium to achieve the distinctive blend of graphic simplicity and psychological depth that defined his representations of Paris nightlife.

The creation of this piece falls squarely within the critical period of 1876 to 1900, a time when Toulouse-Lautrec was obsessively documenting the world of performers, dancers, and actors in venues across Montmartre. Unlike formal portraits, the artist focused on capturing his subjects in candid, often unflattering, poses, emphasizing movement and costume design. Here, the minimal detail and broad planes of color highlight the silhouettes of the two women, suggesting an intimate conversation or rehearsal moment away from the glare of the stage lights. The sophisticated use of olive green provides a subdued, unified atmosphere, characteristic of the artist’s more refined graphic experiments.

Toulouse-Lautrec revolutionized the visual culture of the era, leveraging the reproducibility of prints to disseminate his art widely. His aesthetic was heavily influenced by Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e), utilizing unconventional cropping, bold contour lines, and large expanses of flat color. This approach is evident in Lender and Lavalliere, which prioritizes line and gesture over complex modeling. The work serves as a prime example of graphic output from the period, showcasing the innovative techniques that made Toulouse-Lautrec one of the most celebrated printmakers of the 19th century. This specific impression is housed in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, providing crucial documentation of French cultural life and graphic arts history. Due to its age and historical importance, this masterful print is often made available for educational use in various public domain collections globally.