Description:Created in c. 1876, this unique pen and ink drawing features Toulouse-Lautrec's signature monogram stamp, 'TL' in red in the lower left.
Offering incredible insight to Henri Toulouse-Lautrec's form and technique in hand-drawn works, this Croquis à l'encre features various figural studies and sketches done by the artist in a seemingly random and highly expressive manner. Several profile studies of faces can be seen as well as a full-body profile of a man whose bones are also featured - as if Toulouse-Lautrec were attempting to study the physiology of the human form in order to better translate them on paper. We also see whimsical and charming studies of animals, from dogs with floppy ears to a fox on the prowl and even a timid goose. What gives this work a highly intimate quality, is the fact that each stroke of the pen can be seen and studied throughout each of the images. As we are more familiar with Toulouse-Lautrec's works that entail bright, poster-size, publicity images of can-can dancers and the stage, this piece reveals another side of his many talents: a classic sketch artist who also studied and appreciated the human form.
PROVENANCE:
- M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York
- Otto Preminger, New York
Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
This Toulouse-Lautrec drawing is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the final sale of the work) :
1. Dortu, M.G. Toulouse-Lautrec et son œuvre. Catalogue des dessins, vol. IV, Collectors Editions: New York, 1971. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. D.466 on pgs. 78-9.
2. Joyant, Maurice. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1864 - 1901, Dessins, estampes, affiches, vol. 2, Paris, 1927. Illustrated on pg. 178.
3. Lugt, Frits. Les Marques de Collections de Dessins & d'Estampes, Amsterdam, 1921. Signature stamp listed and illustrated as cat. no. 1338 on pg. 240.
About the Framing:
Conservation framed with museum-quality archival materials, this work is set in a beautiful, Italian-style gold and bronze moulding that gracefully complements this marvelous work. Its intricately carved detailing serves to accent Toulouse-Lautrec's ornate composition and even echoes the nature of his stroke and lines that outline the expressive movement of his characters within Croquis à l'encre. Completed with white, linen-wrapped mats and a matching gold inner fillet, this work is set behind an archival Plexiglas® cover.
