Yvette Guilbert-French Series: No. 7

The influential printmaker Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec created Yvette Guilbert-French Series: No. 7 in 1894. This work is a lithograph, reflecting the artist's deep engagement with reproductive media and commercial illustration at the end of the 19th century in France. Classified formally as a book component, this specific print belongs to a renowned series dedicated entirely to the celebrated cabaret performer Yvette Guilbert.

Toulouse-Lautrec was renowned for chronicling the vibrant nightlife of Montmartre, Paris, where he was a keen observer of the city's entertainers and demimonde. His choice of subject, Yvette Guilbert (1865-1939), highlights her status as one of the era’s most recognizable singers, famous for her distinctive physical features, dramatic stage persona, and signature long black gloves. This series of prints captures various facets of Guilbert’s performance, demonstrating the artist’s unique ability to merge sharp caricature with insightful portraiture. In this specific image, Toulouse-Lautrec captures the essence of her expressiveness through economical lines characteristic of his graphic style.

As one of the leading master lithographers of his time, Toulouse-Lautrec elevated prints from simple illustrations or advertisements to significant fine art objects. The technique used in this lithograph exemplifies the immediacy and boldness that defined his aesthetic approach, securing his place as a foundational figure in modern graphic design. Such prints, crucial examples of French fin-de-siècle art, continue to define the public image of figures like Guilbert. This particular example of Yvette Guilbert-French Series: No. 7 is held within the distinguished collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.