At Les Ambassadeurs (Au Café-Concert / At the Café Concert)
Medium
Crayon, brush and spatter lithograph printed in six colors on wove paper; only state
Dimensions
Image: 4 7/16 × 3 13/16 in. (11.3 × 9.8 cm) Sheet: 23 1/4 in. × 17 in. (59.1 × 43.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1922
Accession Number
22.82.1-59
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the electric nightlife of Belle Époque Paris with *At Les AmbassadeursAu Café-Concert / At the Café Concert)*, 1894 lithograph by Edward Ancourt, Henri de-Lautrec, and André Marty. This intimate scene, measuring just 4 7/16 × 3 13/16 inches on a larger 23 1/4 × 17-inch sheet, evokes the bustling ambiance of Les Ambassadeurs, a renowned café-concert venue where Parisians mingled amid music, laughter, and performances. Toulouse-Lautrec, the group's star, masterfully captures women in these social hubs, reflecting his signature focus on the era's bohemian underbelly. Printed in six vivid colors using crayon, brush, and innovative spatter techniques on wove paper—this sole state edition showcases the cutting-edge lithography that revolutionized poster art. Lautrec and his collaborators pushed color printing boundaries, blending sharp lines with textured splatters for dynamic energy, making posters affordable art for the masses. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (Rogers Fund, 1922), this work highlights café-concerts' cultural boom, democratizing entertainment and nightlife imagery for a captivated public. A window into 1890s Paris's joyful excess!
About the Artist
Edward Ancourt|Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec|André Marty (French|French) · 1800 |1864 –1899 |1901
French, 19th century|French, Albi 1864–1901 Saint-André-du-Bois