Tailpiece from Au Pied du Sinaï

Art Historical Context

This small tailpiece is a reproduction of a lithograph created in 1897 by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec for the publication *Au Pied du Sina*. A leading figure of Post-Impressionism,-Lautrec was celebrated for his innovative graphic work that captured the spirit of late-19th-century Paris. Lithography, a process of drawing with greasy crayon on stone, suited his fluid, expressive line and allowed him to produce illustrations with remarkable immediacy and tonal richness. Intended as a decorative ending to a section of text, the compact image (just under three inches across) reflects the artist’s skill in adapting his style to the intimate scale of book design. Printed on cream wove paper, the reproduction preserves the delicate quality of the original. Toulouse-Lautrec’s contributions to illustration and posters helped raise printmaking to the level of fine art during the Belle Époque. Now in the Art Institute of Chicago’s Prints and Drawings collection, the work offers a glimpse of the artist’s lesser-known activity as a book illustrator, complementing the better-known posters and paintings that defined his career.

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...