Artwork
Advertisement for the Album "Yvette Guilbert"
Advertisement for the Album "Yvette Guilbert" is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. It dates from 1894 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
In 1894 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec produced a black‑ink woodcut serving as a promotional poster for the album titled “Yvette Guilbert.” The print combines bold lettering with a central silhouette of a figure whose limbs are spread, set against a light‑beige background marked by a fine grid of black lines. The composition balances stark graphic elements with a minimalist layout.
Subject & Meaning
The work advertises the vocal performances of Yvette Guilbert, a celebrated French chanteuse of the Belle Époque. By depicting a stylized, outstretched figure, Lautrec alludes to the dynamism of stage presence and the theatrical flair associated with Guilbert’s cabaret appearances, inviting viewers to associate the music with visual vigor.
Technique & Style
Executed as a woodcut, the image relies on carved black lines to produce high contrast and crisp edges. Lautrec’s use of simplified forms, strong typographic hierarchy, and a restrained palette reflects his broader printmaking practice, which often merged graphic design with the immediacy of poster art while retaining a hand‑crafted quality.
History & Provenance
Created during Lautrec’s most prolific period in late‑19th‑century Paris, the print was part of a series of commercial commissions that documented the city’s nightlife. It originally circulated in the French capital’s music halls and later entered museum collections that focus on graphic arts and the cultural milieu of Montmartre.
Context
The advertisement emerges from a vibrant era when cabaret, chanson, and visual culture intersected. Lautrec, embedded in the artistic circles of Montmartre, frequently portrayed performers, and this piece exemplifies the symbiotic relationship between popular entertainment and the emerging modern graphic aesthetic of the 1890s.
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.
