Artwork
Yvette Guilbert: Saluant le public
Yvette Guilbert: Saluant le public is a print by the Impressionist artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. It dates from 1898 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s 1898 lithograph titled *Yvette Guilbert: Saluant le public* captures the celebrated French cabaret performer as she acknowledges an unseen audience. The image presents the singer in a dimly lit interior, her right arm raised in a courteous salute, her face softened by the print’s tonal treatment, conveying a moment of quiet interaction between performer and spectators.
Subject & Meaning
The work focuses on Yvette Guilbert, a prominent figure of Parisian music halls, portrayed at the instant of greeting. By emphasizing her poised stance and the subtle expression on her blurred visage, the lithograph underscores the ritual of performance—an exchange of attention that defines the intimate atmosphere of late‑19th‑century cabaret.
Technique & Style
Executed in lithography, the image relies on a restrained palette of muted tones and a careful balance of light and shadow. Toulouse‑Lautrec employs chiaroscuro to model the figure, allowing the illuminated arm and dress to emerge from the surrounding darkness, thereby creating depth and a modest theatrical tension without overt detail.
History & Provenance
Created in 1898, the print belongs to a prolific period when Toulouse‑Lautrec, despite the lifelong effects of adolescent leg injuries, produced a large body of work documenting Paris’s nightlife. The lithograph was issued as part of a series of portrait prints of popular entertainers, reflecting the artist’s ongoing engagement with the city’s entertainment venues.
Artist & collection
Artist
Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Montfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901), known as Toulouse-Lautrec (French: ), was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist, and illustrator.
