Divan Japonais (1893)
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Artist: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
The owner of Divan Japonais, a cabaret in Montmartre, commissioned this poster from Toulouse-Lautrec to celebrate the cabaret’s reopening after refurbishment. The poster is dominated by Jane Avril, a famous cancan dancer as a spectator in an elegant black silhouette and a chic hat on top of her red hair. To her right, Lautrec includes his friend Édouard Dujardin, a dandyish writer and a night club habitué. In the background is the famous singer Yvette Guilbert performing on stage. Although her head is cropped by the top edge of the composition, her signature long black gloves and gaunt physique leave no doubt as to her identity.
The name of the cabaret and the style of the poster reveals the European interest for Japanese art and culture during the period. The use of large areas of flat color, strong outlines, oblique angles and cropped composition reflects Lautrec’s careful study of Japanese woodblock prints. By exaggerating the characteristic features of the individuals, Lautrec conveyed the essence of their personalities and the vibrant appeal of Montmartre’s rowdy night life.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter, printmaker and illustrator who established himself as the premier poster artist in Paris in the 1890’s and was often commissioned to advertise famous Montmartre entertainers as celebrities. An aristocratic, alcoholic dwarf known for his louche lifestyle and immersion in the nightlife culture, Lautrec portrayed the colourful, theatrical and sometimes decadent Parisian life of his days. Elevating the medium of lithography to the realm of high art in the late 19th century, Lautrec – along with Cézanne, Van Gogh and Gauguin – is among the most well-known painters of the Post-Impressionist period.
