Aristide Bruant -Les Chansonniers de Montmartre

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901, France.) This lithograph features one of the rarest versions of the iconic 1893 image of Aristide Bruant. It is printed with an advertisement for a songbook called "Les Chansonniers de Montmartre," a veritable encyclopedia of Montmartre's performers, led by Bruant himself. The piece has a monogram stamp and signature, measures 35" x 50," comes unframed.

This is a huge work of art and we have a frame kit for this piece that we will sell for our cost of $150; inquire at the time of purchase.

Ref: Wittrock, p. 9 (var); Adriani, 12 (var); Adhemar, 15 (III); PAI-VII, 330


This iconic image was originally a poster created in 1893 meant to be overprinted with different text for different occasions. It depicts the trademark black cape, scarlet scarf and black hat of singer/performer/club owner, Aristide Bruant. This compelling dramatic work was remarkable for its radical design. Lautrec has reduced his portrait of Bruant almost to abstract forms, with a limited palette of four colors, beginning with a keystone in olive green, then adding black, red and brown. The emphasis is on line and form, creating volume without shading, accentuated by the adoption of flat colors. Also radical is the artist’'s choice of viewpoint to depict the singer from behind.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864 – 1901) was a French artist who vividly captured the 19th century’s festive Parisian nightlife in paintings and posters. The period in which he created his art was known as the Belle Epoque and his focus was on the decadence in Parisian society. Toulouse-Lautrec began his artistic career when, as a teenager, he injured both of his legs and immersed himself in art during his long convalescence. In adulthood, he joined the culture of Paris’ bohemian Montmartre section, and painted its spectacle of circuses, dance halls, nightclubs and racetracks, as well as the artists, streetwalkers, writers, aristocrats and dancers he befriended.