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Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Color lithograph, 1893, Publisher: Édouard Fournier, Paris. Printer: Edward Ancourt, Paris.
This poster is attached to a cardboard and paper backing with tape covering all sides. Poster is browning.
History of Divan Japonais:
The Divan Japonais, a cabaret in Montmartre, an artists' quarter in Paris, was newly redecorated in 1893 with fashionable Japanese motifs and lanterns. Its owner, Édouard Fournier, commissioned this poster—depicting singers, dancers, and patrons—from Toulouse-Lautrec to attract customers to the opening of his nightclub. In the immediate foreground, Toulouse-Lautrec depicts two of his good friends in the audience: on the right, Édouard Dujardin, an art critic and founder of the literary journal Revue wagnérienne, and, at the center, the famous cancan dancer Jane Avril, whose elegant black silhouette dominates the scene. In the background, another well-known entertainer of the period, the singer Yvette Guilbert, performs on stage. Although her head is abruptly cropped in this composition—reflecting the influence of photography and Japanese prints—Guilbert was immediately known to contemporary patrons by the dramatic gesture of her signature long black gloves.
[From MoMA NY @www.moma.org] |
| Poster was soaked in water and cardboard backing was removed by hand. Once all layers were removed the poster was adhered face-down on a museum board to dry overnight. Poster was then removed from museum board, mounted to Okawara paper using a water-soluble combination PVA adhesive and allowed to dry overnight. Protective hollytex covering was removed and excess gelatin was cleaned from the surface.
Larger holes were filled with a compound; smaller areas of loss were not filled, rather, restoration was applied directly to the backing paper. Restoration was performed using colored pencil. |
| COMPLETED ON 07/20/2010 |
