1 / 6
Live
TOULOUSE-LAUTREC (Henri de). At the circus. Twenty-two colou…
See original version (French)
TOULOUSE-LAUTREC (Henri de). At the circus. Twenty-two colou…
See original version (French)
Lot no. 113
Description
TOULOUSE-LAUTREC (Henri de).
At the circus. Twenty-two coloured pencil drawings. - At the circus. Seventeen coloured pencil drawings.
Paris, London, Berlin, New-York: Goupil & Cie, Manzi, Joyant & Cie, 1905 (tome 1). - Paris: Librairie de France, [1932] (vol. 2). - 2 folio albums, 430 x 320: (2 ff.), 3 pp. 22 plates; (2 ff.), 3 pp. 17 plates. On sheets, in publisher's hardback folder with flaps.
First edition of these two magnificent albums, bringing together 39 facsimile reproductions of drawings by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), devoted to the world of the circus. These works were produced in 1899, when the artist was confined to a clinic in Neuilly to treat his addiction to alcohol.
The first volume, published in 1905, comprises 22 plates and opens with a preface by the art critic and collector Arsène Alexandre (1859-1937). In it, he recounts his meeting with the artist and talks about his drawings: "Before taking our leave, we return to his bright and cheerful white room (and we have returned there many times), to take a closer look at his latest works. And it is the circus scenes that we are presenting to you today, which are one of his most curious works, and which were executed entirely from memory, without documents, without prior sketches, without notes, reference points or milestones of any kind, in other words a veritable prodigy of plastic intelligence, one of those attempts that many artists, in fact, would declare 'mad', being incapable of bringing to fruition. Composition, characterisation of types, humour, breadth of execution, everything that made Lautrec such a talented painter can be found in these drawings, where certain exaggerations of proportions sometimes justly attest to the sincerity and determination of the effort, the triumph of the memory, the integrity of the painter's faculties. Drawings by a madman? Drawings by a madman, certainly, but in the sense that Hok'sai meant it when he called himself "the old man mad about drawing". But apart from that, the work of a man who has never been in better health. Besides, Lautrec's intelligence was always absolutely intact and lively.
The second volume, published nearly 30 years later, completes the first collection with 17 reproductions. Because of this interval, it is rare to find the two albums reunited as they are here.
Each reproduction is mounted on blue-grey or cream card and bears the publisher's oval dry-stamp.
The first album was printed in an edition of 200 numbered copies on vellum (no. 66). The second album was printed in an edition of 215 copies (including 15 hors commerce) on Arches wove paper (no. 13).
Some brown spots on the dust jackets. The flaps of the folder of the first volume are slightly torn. Numerous freckles on the text leaves, as is often the case. The reproductions, on the other hand, are practically free of foxing.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits:
Contact organization
Delivery methods
You may also like