Aristide Bruant (from Le Café Concert)
Medium
Brush, crayon, and spatter lithograph printed in black on wove paper; only state
Dimensions
Image: 10 9/16 × 8 7/16 in. (26.8 × 21.5 cm) Sheet: 17 5/16 × 12 5/8 in. (44 × 32 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1923
Accession Number
23.30.3.7
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec *Aristide Bruant ( Le Café Concert)*, in 1893, the gritty charisma of one of Paris's most iconic cabaret performers. Bruant, a singer and chansonnier known for his raw, working-class ballads, strides boldly in this brush, crayon, and spatterograph, embodying the bohemian spirit of Montmartre's during the Belle Époque. in stark black on wove paper in a single state, the image measures 10 9/16 × 8 7/16 inches, showcasing Toulouse-Lautrec's mastery of poster art. Toulouse-Lautrec revolutionized lithography, blending fine art techniques like spatter and crayon with commercial printing to create dynamic, expressive posters. This work, produced with printer Edward Ancourt for the journal *L'Estampe Originale*, highlights his innovative approach: bold lines and textured effects evoke Bruant's defiant energy, making the print both a portrait and a promotional marvel. Acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art through the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in 1923, this piece reflects the cultural ferment of 1890s Paris, where café-concerts bridged high art and popular entertainment. It invites visitors to glimpse the era's vibrant underbelly, preserved in Toulouse-Lautrec's unflinching gaze.
About the Artist
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec|Edward Ancourt|l'Estampe Originale · 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...