Chocolat Dansant Dans Un Bar
Date1896
Original created by
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
, after (French painter, printmaker, draftsman, 1864–1901)
Illustration CitationPublished in Le Rire, 28 March 1896
MediumLithograph
Dimensionssheet: 12 × 9 3/16 in. (30.5 × 23.3 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mr. Joseph Fraczkowski, 1989
Object number1989-73
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPRINT
Label TextChocolat was the nickname of a black performer who was well-known as a clown at the Nouveau Cirque and an informal dancer on the Paris cafe circuit frequented by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Chocolat's real name was Rafael Padilla. Born enslaved in Cuba, he was sold to a Portuguese man whose ship took him to Europe, where he escaped while in Spain. He worked at various jobs until a fortuitous meeting with a well-known French clown who invited him to Paris. There he became a popular comic performer, though his role was to endure the ridicule and abuse of his white counterpart on stage.
