Madame Abdala, from Le Café-Concert

Madame Abdala, from Le Café-Concert is a defining lithograph created in 1893 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864-1901). This pivotal piece captures the vibrancy and underlying melancholy of fin-de-siècle Parisian nightlife, a subject that Toulouse-Lautrec meticulously documented throughout his career. Executed as a print on ivory wove paper, the classification highlights the artist's dedication to graphic arts as a medium capable of both artistic expression and mass dissemination.

The work was printed by Edward Ancourt & Cie, a critical collaborator in defining the aesthetic of commercial and fine art prints in France during this period. It was subsequently published as part of the influential series L'Estampe originale (1893-1895), an initiative crucial to the revitalization and promotion of original printmaking. By focusing on performers and patrons of the café-concert venues, Toulouse-Lautrec utilized the sharp contrast and expressive line unique to lithography to create psychologically insightful portraits, avoiding idealization in favor of raw character study.

The subject, Madame Abdala, is rendered with the artist's characteristic compositional economy. Toulouse-Lautrec places her firmly within the social context of the burgeoning entertainment industry, elevating the portrait of this specific figure from the Le Café-Concert series into a commentary on modern urban life. This celebrated example of French graphic art is preserved in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. The original work and high-quality prints of this iconic lithograph, produced over a century ago, are frequently referenced globally, benefiting significantly from various public domain and archival initiatives dedicated to making such masterpieces accessible.