Divan Japonais

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

1892–93 · Lithograph printed in four colors, wove paper · Drawings and Prints

Divan Japonais was one of the many café-concerts in late nineteenth-century Paris frequented by Toulouse-Lautrec. His poster advertising the nightspot features two of his favorite Montmartre stars, Yvette Guilbert and Jane Avril. Here, Avril is a spectator, not a performer, as she sits in the foreground with Édouard Dujardin, a dandyish writer and nightclub habitué. In the upper left corner, on stage, is the headless body of Guilbert, recognizable by her trademark long black gloves and gaunt physique.

Artist

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Date

1892–93

Medium

Lithograph printed in four colors, wove paper

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Bequest of Clifford A. Furst, 1958