Cover for Les Courtes Joies
1897, printed and published 1925
Medium
Lithograph over a fawn tint from a second stone on grayish laid china paper
Dimensions
Image: 18.2 × 24.8 cm (7 3/16 × 9 13/16 in.); Sheet: 27.8 × 36.7 cm (11 × 14 1/2 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
82015
Art Historical Context
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec designed this lithograph in 1897 as the cover for *Les Courtes Joies*, though it was printed and published only in 1925. A leading Post-Impressionist, Toulouse-Lautrec excelled at capturing the spirit of Parisian nightlife and popular culture through bold, economical line and innovative printmaking. His work helped elevate commercial graphics—posters, programs, and book covers—into the realm of fine art. The print employs lithography over a fawn tint from a second stone on grayish laid china paper, a technique that produced subtle color and texture while remaining su...
About the Artist
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec · 1864–1901
Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Montfa (1864-1901) was a French Post-Impressionist painter, printmaker, and illustrator whose innovative poster designs revolutionized graphic art and advertising in late 19th-century Paris. Born into an aristocratic family at Albi in southern France, Toulouse-Lautrec's privileged lineage traced back to the Counts of Toulouse and extended uninterrupted to th...