Brandès and le Bargy, in Les Cabotins

Art Historical Context

Step into the dazzling world of 1890s Parisian theater with Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec *Brandès and le Bargy in Les Cabotins (1894). This color lithograph captures two prominent actors, Edmond Brandès and Georges Le Bargy, in a playful pose from the comedic play *Les Cabotins*The Ham Actors"). Toulouse-Lautrec, a Post-Impressionist master of the Belle Époque, immortalized the bohemian nightlife of Montmartre, blending sharp social observation with bold, expressive lines. Printed on cream wove paper (image: 43.2 × 33.4 cm), this work exemplifies Lautrec's revolutionary use of color lithography. He pioneered multi-stone printing techniques to layer vivid hues directly from the stone, creating affordable posters that democratized art. Far from elite canvases, these prints plastered Paris streets, advertising cabarets and theaters while elevating lithography to fine art status. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings Department, *Brandès and le Bargy* reflects the era's theater craze, where stars like these shone amid gaslit glamour. Lautrec's unflinching gaze on performers' exaggerated gestures reveals the thrill—and artifice—of stage life, inviting us to applaud the show.

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...