← Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

The Englishman at the Moulin Rouge (1892, Met-Objekt 879)

Original title: The Englishman at the Moulin Rouge

Artist

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Date

1892

Medium

Lithograph printed in six colors on laid paper; second state of two

Dimensions

Sheet: 24 5/8 × 19 1/8 in. (62.5 × 48.5 cm) Image: 18 1/2 × 14 11/16 in. (47 × 37.3 cm)

Credit line

Bequest of Scofield Thayer, 1982

kurzbeschreibung

Unlike Toulouse-Lautrec's other night scenes, this 1892 lithograph brings a pair of figures to the fore: a woman in a pale green dress on a yellow chair, beside her a man in a dark red suit and top hat. Printed in six colors on laid paper, the work survives in the second of two states and points to a scene at the Moulin Rouge in Paris.

Description

Two figures dominate the foreground: a seated woman in a pale green dress on a yellow chair, and at her side a standing gentleman in a dark red suit and top hat, performing something for her. Behind them, patches of color and line dissolve into a suggested interior of the Moulin Rouge. Red, yellow, green, and blue govern the palette. Outlines flow and stay in motion, as is typical of Toulouse-Lautrec. Light falls evenly across the sheet, casting no shadows.

Context

The Moulin Rouge opened in 1889 as a cabaret in Paris and drew artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec. In many paintings and lithographs he captured the nightlife of the French capital. The Englishman of the title may refer to a particular guest or a recurring type of patron. The work dates from the years of the Belle Époque, when the Moulin Rouge was a meeting place for entertainment and social exchange.

Impact

Strong colors and restless lines give the sheet a sketchy, immediate quality; the atmosphere of the nightclub comes through. Because the arrangement stays reduced, attention settles on the interaction between the two figures. The mood that results is familiar and at the same time keeps its distance.

Technique

The lithograph was printed in six colors on laid paper, which allows for graduated color reproduction. Two states exist; the second, present here, is considered the final version. Lithography let Toulouse-Lautrec join flowing lines with large areas of color, a hallmark of his poster and print work.

AI-generated description text

Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)