The Box, Faust
Medium
Lithograph in violet black on cream wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 37.2 × 26.5 cm (14 11/16 × 10 7/16 in.); Sheet: 55 × 38.3 cm (21 11/16 × 15 1/8 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
35812
Art Historical Context
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, a leading French Post-Impressionist, produced this lithograph in 1896 amid the vibrant cultural ferment of Belle Époque Paris. Renowned for his unflinching yet affectionate views of cabarets, theaters, and nightlife, Lautrec captured the era’s social energy with bold, economical lines. His work bridged fine art and popular culture, making him a key figure in the rise of modern printmaking. Created as a lithograph in violet black on cream wove paper, the piece highlights Lautrec’s mastery of the medium. Lithography allowed artists to draw directly on stone, producing...
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...