The Arton Trial, Ribot at the Assize Court (Procès Arton, Ribot à la Cour d'Assises), second plate

The Arton Trial, Ribot at the Assize Court (Procès Arton, Ribot à la Cour d’Assises), second plate, is a striking lithograph created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1896. As a pivotal figure in Post-Impressionist graphic arts, Toulouse-Lautrec embraced the print medium to document the social life and public spectacles of the fin de siècle Parisian world. This particular work demonstrates the artist’s mastery of lithography, utilizing strong, defining lines and dramatic compositional arrangements to capture the intensity inherent in a major legal proceeding.

Dating from 1896, the subject matter documents a moment during the highly publicized Arton Trial, a major political corruption scandal that gripped the Third Republic. Toulouse-Lautrec was keenly interested in public drama, treating the solemn atmosphere of the French Assize Court as another form of theater. The quick, decisive style characteristic of the artist allows him to convey the specific demeanor of the figures, likely depicting Alexandre Ribot, a prominent statesman of the era, caught within the glare of public scrutiny. This approach positions Toulouse-Lautrec as a trenchant social chronicler, treating the courtroom scene with the same immediacy and insight he brought to depicting the cabarets and brothels he frequented.

The graphic power and historical immediacy of The Arton Trial, Ribot at the Assize Court solidify its importance within the canon of late 19th-century French art. This specific impression of the second plate is held within the distinguished collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), recognizing its value as both a historical document and a key example of modern printmaking. The accessibility of Toulouse-Lautrec’s prolific output of prints ensures that many of his powerful images relating to this 1896 period are widely studied, with high-quality images sometimes entering the public domain for broader educational access.