Ballade de Noël
Original title: Ballade de Noël
kurzbeschreibung
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec made this lithograph, known as 'Ballade de Noël', around 1895. It presents a Christmas scene centred on a single figure carrying a lantern. The print comes from a song sheet edition and later had text added by another hand.
Description
One figure dominates the arrangement, standing on a low platform and holding a lantern. The character wears a traditional fur-trimmed costume that recalls Father Christmas. Behind, faint outlines of buildings and windows suggest a city setting. Black and white define the drawing, with hatching building contours and shadows. Along the sheet's edge appear credits for the ballad's composer, lyricist, and publisher.
Context
Created as the title page for a song sheet edition of 'Ballade de Noël', the extra notes on distribution and authors explain themselves. During the 1890s Toulouse-Lautrec produced many prints, often for commercial purposes such as posters or sheet music. This sheet belongs to a series of Christmas cards he designed for the art dealer Siegfried Bing. Printed in an edition of 100, it now resides in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Impact
The restrained black-and-white scheme and delicate hatching give the image an intimate, almost nostalgic mood. Through posture and lantern, the central figure seems both enigmatic and inviting, which heightens the Christmas feeling.
Technique
This is a crayon lithograph with scraper technique, printed in black on wove paper. The hatching was drawn on the stone with lithographic crayon, while the scraper selectively removed lights and fine lines from the surface. The text was added afterwards by another hand, indicating its use as sheet music.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)