← Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Cecy Loftus

Original title: Cecy Loftus

Artist

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Date

1895

Medium

Crayon and spatter lithograph printed in dark green on mounted china paper; only state

Dimensions

Image: 14 9/16 × 9 13/16 in. (37 × 25 cm) Sheet: 19 11/16 × 13 3/8 in. (50 × 34 cm)

Credit line

Gift of Derald H. and Janet Ruttenberg, 1985

kurzbeschreibung

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec drew the actress Cecy Loftus in 1895, dressed elegantly with a hat and a bow. The print is a crayon and spatter lithograph in dark green, printed on china paper, and exists in only one state.

Description

Cecy Loftus stands self-assured, her dress rendered in soft folds and shadows. An elegant hat rests on her head, and she holds a bow in her hand. Behind her, curtains and wooden boards hint at an interior. The color remains mostly gray, with darker lithographic accents providing contrast. Frontal light picks out the contours and shadows of her figure.

Context

This sheet was made in 1895, when Toulouse-Lautrec often depicted stage stars and women artists of Parisian nightlife. Cecy Loftus performed as an actress in Paris. The lithograph remained a single print and belongs to his experiments with various printing techniques, which he used for both posters and individual sheets.

Impact

The restrained color and textured surface give the sheet a calm, almost intimate mood. The clear lighting emphasizes the sitter's confident posture. Thus the portrait feels present without being intrusive.

Technique

Crayon and spatter lithography, printed in dark green on china paper. The spatter technique creates a fine, dotted texture, while the crayon application allows gentle tonal transitions. The print was realized in only one state, suggesting a deliberate design.

AI-generated description text

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