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Social Sharing
Divan Japonais
Not on view
Between 1891 and 1900, Toulouse-Lautrec produced 30 color lithograph posters, his most recognized work for their evocation of the era in which he lived. His poster for the cabaret Divan Japonais, a lowceilinged nightclub decorated with fans where waitresses dressed in kimonos, is perhaps the most suggestive of an era taken with things Japanese. Figures in the packed interior include the actresses Yvette Guilbert onstage and Jane Avril observing. The color scheme recalls the limited palette of early Japanese prints. The silhouetting of the conductor and musical instruments is perhaps owed to Utamaro's teahouse prints, in which seated waitresses relax outside as activities inside the teahouse are silhouetted against door and window screens. KB, Japanesque The star of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's poster is the legendary dancer Jane Avril, shown here as a member of the audience at the cabaret Divan Japonais on rue des Martyrs. The prominent theater critic Édouard Dujardin appears behind her, and the slender figure of Yvette Guilbert, outfitted with her distinctive black gloves, appears on stage, so tall that her head is cut off by the upper edge of the poster.
- Artist
- Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
- Printer
- Edward Ancourt
- Title
- Divan Japonais
- Date
- 1893
- Object Type
- Medium
- Color lithograph poster with crayon, brush, spatter, and transferred screen
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 799 x 619 mm (31 7/16 x 24 3/8 in.); Image: 795 x 600 mm (31 5/16 x 23 5/8 in.)
- Credit Line
- Bruno and Sadie Adriani Collection
- Accession Number
- 1958.88