Lot 24
  • 24

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Estimate
4,000,000 - 6,000,000 USD
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Description

  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
  • Bal masqué
  • Signed H.T. Lautrec and dated 1888 (lower right)

  • Oil on card
  • 25 5/8 by 23 5/8 in.
  • 65 by 60 cm

Provenance

Mademoiselle A. Diéterle

Private Collection, London

Private Collection, Amsterdam (by 1940)

Private Collection, Los Angeles

Marlborough Gallery, London

Olive, Lady Baillie, Leeds Castle (acquired from the above on July 18, 1953)

Acquired by descent from the above by the present owner

Exhibited

San Francisco, Palace of Fine Arts, Golden Gate International Exposition, Art, 1940, no. 306, illustrated in the catalogue

Denver Art Museum, 1942 (on loan)

London, Marlborough Fine Art, Ltd., An Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings by European Masters, 1953, no. 23, illustrated in the catalogue

Literature

Albert Guinon, "Bals masqués," Paris illustré, Paris, March 3, 1888, illustrated p. 150

Gustave Coquiot, Lautrec, ou quinze ans de moeurs parisiennes, 1885-1900, Paris, 1921, illustrated p. 25

Alexander Brook, "Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec," The Arts, New York, September 1923, illustrated p. 163 (titled At the Moulin-Rouge)

Maurice Joyant, Lautrec I, Paris, 1926, p. 264, illustrated p. 73

M. G. Dortu, Toulouse-Lautrec, Paris, 1952, illustrated p. 4

Francis Jourdain & Jean Adhémar, Toulouse-Lautrec, 1952, illustrated p. 18

Douglas Cooper, H. de Toulouse-Lautrec, London, 1955, p. 38

Henri Perruchot, La vie de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paris, 1958, discussed in footnote on p. 207

M.G. Dortu, Toulouse-Lautrec et son oeuvre, vol. II, New York, 1971, no. P.301, illustrated p. 137 (catalogued as grisaille on canvas)

Giorgio Caproni & G.M. Sugana, L'Opera completa di Toulouse-Lautrec, Milan, 1969, no. 207a, illustrated p. 100

Condition

The card is stable. There is a small repaired tear to the card at the center of the top edge, and a small area of loss in the lower left corner. There are a few nailhead-sized spots of retouching along the top edge. There are areas of pale fluorescence under UV, in the suit of the seated man in the lower left and the standing man in the far center, which is due to residual old varnish. Apart from some frame rubbing at the extreme edges, and a few dotted losses towards the center of the right edge, this work is in good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

As a chronicler of the café culture and the night life in turn-of-the-century Paris, Toulouse-Lautrec had no rivals. Born into an aristocratic French family in 1864, Lautrec spent much of his life among the Parisian demi-monde, revealing his genius in sharp, analytical portrayals of the twilight world of the fin-de-siècle Paris. A brilliant interpreter of this lively and debauched world, Lautrec did not limit himself – as so many of his contemporaries had done – to social critique.  Whether it was the quick sketch of a face, the curving lines of a group of dancers, a scene in a café, at the Théâtre des Variétés or in a maison close, he succeeded in capturing the timeless humanity that lay beneath the illusory façades of his subjects. The present picture, painted in 1888, is a perfect rendering of the spirit of the times at one of these decadent modern affairs.

This lively oil was painted in gray scale so that it could be widely reproduced to illustrate Albert Guinon's article Bal masqué, which was published in the Paris illustré on March 10, 1888.  Guinon describes the atmosphere of the costume balls at the Opéra, where the mystery behind the masks allows socially acceptable flirtations among members of high-society (fig. 1).  Lautrec captures that very atmosphere in this picture, using his keen draftsmanship to render the subtle nuances of interaction among the crowd.   As one of the most talented draftsman working in Paris during the time, Lautrec provided illustrations for several periodicals of his day, and Paris illustré was one of the publications that featured his work. The crispness of detail in the present composition evidences his talent in this regard, and the picture exemplifies how his expertise as a draftsman translates seamlessly through the media of oil.  Bal masqué is the most complete and detailed of three versions of this subject that Lautrec painted at the time.  The other two paintings are located in a private collection in France and in the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum in Albi.

 

Lautrec's use of grisaille for this picture enhances the impact of his composition. While the tonal gradation allows the picture to be easily reproduced in printed media, it also lends itself to exploring the dynamics of spatial perspective.  The intimate interactions of the group in the foreground and the activity of the people in the background are rendered with equal emphasis, but the impact of both scenes are not lost on the viewer.   Like his colleague Degas who reveled in studying the social interactions of modern life (fig. 2), Lautrec focuses on the flirtatious relationship of the characters in the foreground. This focus on seduction was a recurrent theme in Lautrec's best work, particularly in his famous cabaret and brothel scenes that showed the darker side of the demi-monde (fig. 3).   It has been suggested in a 1958 discussion of the present work that some of the characters featured here are well known figures such as Renée Vert, Adolphe Albert, La Goulue and Claudon.