Madame Abdala (from Le Café Concert)

Madame Abdala (from Le Café Concert) is a definitive 1893 print by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, capturing a subject from the bustling nocturnal world of fin-de-siècle Paris. Executed using a sophisticated brush and spatter lithograph technique, the piece demonstrates the artist's inventive approach to printmaking, with scraping used skillfully to manipulate tone and texture across the figure's garments and background. This particular impression, printed in rich black ink on laid Japan paper, originates from the exclusive deluxe edition published in 1893, signifying its high quality and collectible status as a major work within Toulouse-Lautrec’s graphic output.

Toulouse-Lautrec chronicled the often-unflattering reality of entertainment culture, specializing in candid depictions of the women who worked in cabarets and café-concerts. Madame Abdala is rendered with the artist's characteristic psychological insight, portraying the subject with directness rather than sentimental idealization. The classification of this piece as a print underscores the importance of the lithographic medium to Toulouse-Lautrec, allowing him to quickly distribute his dynamic observations of contemporary life. This celebrated work resides in the distinguished collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The wide availability of Toulouse-Lautrec’s influential prints ensures the enduring legacy of his unflinching visual catalog of Parisian society.