Moulin Rouge, La Goulue, poster for the Dance Hall Le Moulin Rouge
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864 - 1901), 1891
colour lithograph on paper, 201 cm x 123.5 cm
Credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (State of the Netherlands)
No fewer than 3,000 copies of this advertisement for the Moulin Rouge were displayed in the streets of Paris in December 1891. The poster made Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec famous overnight and he quickly came to be seen as one of the greatest print designers of all time.
Here he depicts two artistes who performed regularly at the famous nightclub. The woman kicking her leg in the air is La Goulue (‘Glutton’), a celebrated cancan dancer who owed her nickname to the gusto with which she approached everything, from eating and drinking to dancing. Her dance partner in the top hat is Valentin le Déssossé (‘Valentin the Boneless’), so called because of his supple moves. Lautrec presents them here as caricatures, with exaggerated facial features and poses.
The abruptly cropped silhouettes of Valentin and the audience add to the dynamism of the composition. The deep black, the bright, solid colours and the playful typography also help make this a masterpiece. The poster is large and had to be printed in three parts. This copy is unusual in that it is still intact: the upper band, including a large part of the words ‘Moulin Rouge’ is often missing.
What is it?
What can you see?
Context
- Object number
- p0914N1996
- Edition
- 2nd state of 4
- Dimensions
- 201 cm x 123.5 cm, 193.5 cm x 116 cm, 207 cm x 132 cm
- Catalogue raisonné
- Delteil 339,Adriani 1,Wittrock P1
- printmaker
- Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
- printer
- Imprimerie Charles Lévy
- Credits
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (State of the Netherlands)
- signature
- HTLautrec
- inscription
- MOULIN ROUGE Concert MOULIN ROUGE BAL MOULIN ROUGE TOUS les SOIRS LA GOULUE by Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri de
- inscription
- TOUS LES SOIRS MOULIN ROUGE les Mecredis et Samedis BAL MASQUÉ , Deze tekst is niet door Toulouse-Lautrec ontworpen
- inscription
- Affiches Americaines CH.LEVY.10.Rue Martel. Paris
- stamp
- MOULIN ROUGE, MOULIN ROUGE,
- stamp
- REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE 2/MES10 ENSUS CEN. 20. SEINE
- register mark
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Prints in Paris 1900. Van elitair tot populair, 3 March-11 June 2017
Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, Vrouwen van Tokio & Parijs, 7 July-22 October 2006
Marres-Schretlen, H., 200 jaar lithografie : steendrukken in de verzameling van het Rijksprentenkabinet in het Rijksmuseum = 200 years of lithography : lithographs in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Print Room, 1998, p. 42
