The Amateur Photographer

The Amateur Photographer by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French, 1864-1901, is a significant lithograph created in 1894. This piece exemplifies Toulouse-Lautrec's pioneering use of printmaking, a medium central to his documentation and critique of fin-de-siècle Parisian social life. Executed on tan wove paper, the complex medium involves lithographs printed on both the recto and verso, uniquely integrating handwritten lettering by the artist alongside professionally typeset letterpress.

Produced in France, this work reflects the rapidly shifting cultural landscape of the 1890s, particularly the rise of photography as an accessible amateur pursuit rather than purely a professional practice. Toulouse-Lautrec, known for his keen observations of modern leisure and celebrity culture, frequently captured these changing dynamics in his graphic works. The work’s specific technical composition-combining detailed graphic imagery with informational text-demonstrates the artist's innovative approach to design, positioning this work at the intersection of fine art prints and ephemeral commercial documents.

The careful arrangement of images and text across both sides of the paper highlights the artist’s graphic ingenuity and his desire to engage the viewer through sequential or contextual presentation. Classified strictly as a print, The Amateur Photographer is an essential visual artifact for understanding French popular culture and artistic trends of 1894. This rare impression is housed in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, contributing to the museum’s extensive holdings of Toulouse-Lautrec’s influential graphic oeuvre.