Jane Avril

Date1893

Artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French painter, printmaker, draftsman, 1864–1901)

Illustration CitationAdvertising poster (version without text) for dancer Jane Avril's performance at the Jardin de Paris Final version with text in Les Maitres de l'Affiche, cover poster, 1898

MediumCommercial lithograph

Dimensionscomposition: 10 15/16 × 7 13/16 in. (27.8 × 19.8 cm)
sheet: 11 1/4 × 8 1/16 in. (28.6 × 20.5 cm)

Credit LineGift of Helen Farr Sloan, 1986

Object number1986-176

On View

Not on view

ClassificationsPRINT

Label TextThis advertised Jane Avril’s appearance—much heralded in the Parisian press-- at the Jardin de Paris, a new café concert venue on the Champs Elysees. She dances the can-can, as the bass viol in the foreground suggests the rhythm of the music. With the approval of the theater's management Jane Avril had commissioned the poster from Lautrec, whose work she admired.

For each of his posters, Hemri de Toulouse-Lautrec was present at the printing house to experiment with different forms and colors before finalizing the work. Sometimes this involved only one draft, sometimes 20 or more. Some etr made with full or partial lettering; others, like this one, omit text.