Carnival
Original title: Carnival
kurzbeschreibung
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec made this lithograph, Karneval, in 1894. It depicts a woman in a carnival costume blowing her nose. The print is a crayon and brush lithograph with scraper, executed in olive green and red on wove paper, and is the third state of three.
Description
A woman in traditional carnival attire stands in the foreground, lips painted red, wiping her nose. Her face is partly overlaid by a shadowy figure, perhaps a man in carnival costume. She turns slightly to the left. Behind her, stylized leaves or branches suggest a carnival tree or a stage. The layout feels asymmetrical; the eye catches on the woman in front and the shadowy figure behind. Olive green and red dominate the color scheme.
Context
The lithograph dates from 1894, when Toulouse-Lautrec was capturing Parisian nightlife and entertainment culture through posters and prints. It belongs to the Belle Époque, a time when carnival and masquerades were popular pastimes. The artist often worked with the printer Ancourt, where he employed innovations such as the scraper.
Impact
At first, the ascetic palette stands out, then the animated, slightly distorted figure. The overlapping faces create confusion, almost surreal, and allude to the masquerade of carnival. Sparse lines and the scraper give the sheet an immediate, sketch-like freshness.
Technique
For the lithograph, Toulouse-Lautrec applied crayon and brush to the stone and also used a scraper to bring out highlights and textures. It was printed in olive green and red on wove paper. The sheet is trimmed at the plate mark and shows the third state of the print, indicating careful reworking by the artist.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)