Madame Simon-Girard, Brasseur and Guy in La belle Hélène is a significant lithograph created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864-1901) in 1900. Executed late in the artist’s prolific career, this print captures a scene from the popular operetta La belle Hélène by Jacques Offenbach, an essential fixture of Parisian entertainment during the Belle Époque.
Lautrec was widely recognized for his singular focus on documenting the vibrant theatrical and cabaret life of France at the turn of the century. This particular work focuses on the starring performers of the production-Madame Simon-Girard, Brasseur, and Guy-depicting the expressive energy required on the stage. The artist utilized the lithograph medium to capture the dramatic poses and subtle caricature of the actors, a stylistic approach that characterized his influential posters and graphic work.
The work is classified as a lithograph on cream wove paper, showcasing the technical precision and expressive line that defined Lautrec’s printmaking output. Unlike traditional fine art, the graphic nature of this work allowed for the wider dissemination of the artist's social observations, effectively blurring the lines between high art and popular visual culture. As an important example of French fin-de-siècle graphic art, this piece highlights the artist's dedication to capturing the personalities and dynamism of the Parisian stage. This notable piece resides in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, offering scholars access to high-quality prints reflecting the late career of this esteemed artist.
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