Yvette Guilbert

"Yvette Guilbert" is a striking lithograph on paper created by the renowned French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) in 1898. Classified as a print, this piece is a powerful representation of fin-de-siècle Paris, capturing one of the most recognizable figures of the era's vibrant cabaret and music hall scene.

Toulouse-Lautrec was profoundly immersed in the nightlife of Montmartre, often using the swift, graphic medium of the lithograph to document and define the celebrities of the stage. Yvette Guilbert was a highly successful chansonnier (singer/monologist) known internationally for her distinctive long black gloves and a performance style marked by witty, often sardonic, delivery. Rather than romanticizing her, the artist captures her unique stage persona with keen observational acuity, emphasizing the sharp angles and dynamic gestures that defined her act. This unflinching focus on character and immediacy over conventional beauty is a central theme throughout Toulouse-Lautrec's mature work.

As a master printmaker, Toulouse-Lautrec utilized the lithographic process to produce bold, poster-like images, effectively pushing the boundaries of graphic art and commercial illustration in France. This impression exhibits the clarity of line and the sophisticated compositional balance that made his prints highly influential in the late 19th century. The work remains a critical visual document of Parisian cultural history and is housed in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, providing a prime example of the artist’s groundbreaking engagement with modern celebrity and the democratization of art through popular print media.