Mademoiselle Marcelle Lender, Standing

Mademoiselle Marcelle Lender, Standing is a masterful color lithograph created in 1895 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec French, 1864-1901. This sophisticated print, executed using multiple stones to layer colors on cream wove paper, showcases the artist’s groundbreaking approach to lithography. Lautrec utilized this technique not merely for commercial posters but as a primary medium for fine art, effectively blurring the lines between high and popular culture at the close of the 19th century.

Lautrec was deeply immersed in the theatrical life of fin-de-siècle Paris. Marcelle Lender, a celebrated actress and dancer known for her appearances in operettas and comedies, was one of his most dynamic subjects. The chosen medium allowed the artist to capture the intense artificial lighting and vivid costume colors characteristic of the Parisian stage. This work exemplifies the culture of modern life in France, focusing on transient celebrities and the glamorous, though sometimes harsh, reality of the entertainment world.

The print reveals Lautrec's characteristic asymmetrical composition and his reliance on broad fields of saturated color rather than traditional detailed modeling. The flatness inherent in the lithographic process enhances the immediacy of Lender’s stage presence. Classified simply as a print, this significant piece is held in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. As the artist died relatively early, many original prints derived from his major graphic projects have passed into the public domain, allowing for wider dissemination and appreciation of his mastery of the medium.