The Butterflies, from Mélodies de Désiré Dihau

The Butterflies, from Mélodies de Désiré Dihau by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec French, 1864-1901, is a masterful example of fin-de-siècle French printmaking created in 1895. This work is a lithograph executed on cream wove paper, demonstrating the artist's preference for this medium due to its expressive qualities and its potential for mass dissemination. Lautrec (1864-1901) was deeply connected to the popular culture of late 19th-century France, viewing print as an essential bridge between fine art and the rapidly evolving world of Parisian entertainment and publishing.

The work is connected to a specific cultural moment, serving as an illustration or design element for a set of songs, Mélodies de Désiré Dihau. Dihau, a celebrated bassoonist and composer, was a familiar figure in the artist’s circle, often depicted in his depictions of the Montmartre nightlife. The classification of this work as a print underscores the central role that graphic arts played in Lautrec’s career, wherein he translated the immediate, fleeting nature of the Parisian stage into bold, graphic compositions. His style here is characterized by the dynamic, abbreviated lines and striking compositions he used to capture performers and musicians.

This piece, like many of Lautrec’s graphic explorations of the belle époque, demonstrates the influence of Japanese ukiyo-e prints combined with a distinctly modern European sensibility. The print, The Butterflies, resides within the distinguished collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, preserving this significant aspect of French cultural history. Due to the prolific nature of the artist's graphic output, high-quality prints and reproductions of this period are often available through institutions participating in the public domain.