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Lot 9 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec had a passion for the theatre in all its forms, from the popular dance halls and cabarets to the avant-garde theatres of Paris. The following lithographs (lots 9-15), including several rare impressions, depict some of the actresses and singers whom Lautrec most admired, many of them celebrated in their day but now remembered primarily through his art.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901)
Mademoiselle Marcelle Lender, en buste
Closed16 September 2015
Price Realised
GBP 10,000
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Specialist note
The actress and singer Marcelle Lender (1862-1926) was one of the Lautrec’s favourite performers. In 1895 she starred in the comic operetta Chilpéric, performed at the Théâtre des Variétés in Paris. Such was Lautrec’s infatuation that, in the operetta’s three month run, he attended more than twenty times, arriving just to see Lender dance the bolero in the second act. When asked by his friend the poet and playwright Romain Coolus about his devotion to the play Lautrec explained, ‘I come only to see Lender’s back’, he replied. ‘Look at it carefully; you will seldom see anything as wonderful. Lender’s back is magnificent’ (Romain Coolus, Souvenirs sur Toulouse-Lautrec, 1931, quoted in G. Adriani, p. 157).
This celebrated portrait of Lender in Spanish costume, bowing to the audience, is one of Lautrec's most famous. Gotz Adriani observed that 'no other lithograph is printed with such a wealth of subtle colour combinations, and none embodies, as this does, the opulent decoration of an age moving towards its close' (Adriani, p. 161).
This celebrated portrait of Lender in Spanish costume, bowing to the audience, is one of Lautrec's most famous. Gotz Adriani observed that 'no other lithograph is printed with such a wealth of subtle colour combinations, and none embodies, as this does, the opulent decoration of an age moving towards its close' (Adriani, p. 161).