Menu pour un Dîner chez May Belfort, 1896
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrecexpand_more
Lithograph in dark olive green inkexpand_more
Gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton in honor of John E. Andrus III's 100th birthdayexpand_more 2009.23
Not on Viewexpand_more
After the success of his first poster for the Moulin Rouge nightclub in 1891, Lautrec's large-scale prints were commissioned by nearly all the leading performers of the era. Lautrec first saw the Irish singer May Egan (known as May Belfort), at the café concert Les Décadents in 1895, and shortly after meeting she commissioned him to create a large poster for her upcoming performance at the Petit Casino. He rendered her in the midst of her act—dressed in baby clothes, carrying a black kitten, and singing a sexually suggestive song in her "Saxon" accent. As with many of the performers Lautrec admired, he continued to use Belfort as a subject, creating five other lithographs and one painting of the singer in a three-year period.
The lithograph under consideration was done as a menu for a special dinner at May Belfort's home at the height of her fame in 1896. Above her address, Lautrec rendered a cat on the prowl after an unsuspecting mouse that has just entered an enlarged version of the artist's instantly recognizable monogram. The wit and simplicity of this charming print reveals the humor of both the artist and his patron.
Details
- Title
- Menu pour un Dîner chez May Belfort
- Artist Life
- 1864–1901
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2009.23
- Provenance
- Otto Gerstenberg, Berlin (L. 2785). (Robert Light, Santa Barbara, CA), 1958; sold to Kathleen Lord Wick (born 1922, Lake Forest, IL ; died in Boston, MA, 1997) and Peter Arms Wick (1920-2004), Boston, MA. (Eric G. Carlson, New York), 2009
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Delteil 201, Adriani 200, Wittrock 176
- Curator Approved
This record is from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator, so may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know
Zoom in on the left to the detail you'd like to save. Click 'Save detail' and wait until the image updates. Right click the image to 'save image as' or copy link, or click the image to open in a new tab.