Romain Coolus, program for Rafaël and Salomé from The Beraldi Album of Theatre Programs

Romain Coolus, program for Rafaël and Salomé from The Beraldi Album of Theatre Programs is a significant print created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1896. This piece exemplifies the artist’s mastery of lithography, a medium he frequently utilized for commercial and theatrical commissions during the late 19th century. The work is one of fifty such prints compiled into The Beraldi Album of Theatre Programs, documenting the vibrant Parisian theater culture of the fin de siècle.

Toulouse-Lautrec’s innovative approach to design fundamentally shifted the perception of prints and posters, transforming ephemeral promotional materials into celebrated works of art. The subject matter here focuses on a program for the play Rafaël and Salomé by the French playwright Romain Coolus, an intimate depiction contrasting with the larger-scale works the artist is often associated with. Toulouse-Lautrec specialized in capturing the energy and distinct personalities associated with Parisian nightlife and entertainment.

Unlike his highly detailed posters, this program format allowed the artist to focus on immediate visual communication, often utilizing simplified color palettes and dynamic line work characteristic of the Art Nouveau movement prevalent in France during 1896. The classification of the work as a print underscores its function as a reproducible form of artistic expression, a characteristic that allowed such art to be widely circulated among the public domain of the era. The stylistic economy found in this design highlights Toulouse-Lautrec’s profound influence on modern graphic arts. Programs such as this are invaluable resources for studying the visual culture of the French stage during this pivotal period. This significant lithograph is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), recognizing its importance both within the artist’s prolific output and in the history of graphic design.