Playbill for "Le Chariot de Terre Cuite" (The Little Clay Cart)

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

1895 · Lithograph printed in blue · Drawings and Prints

Lautrec designed this playbill for Victor Barrucand’s adaptation of the fourth-century Sanskrit love story translated as "Le Chariot de terre cuite" (The Little Clay Cart). An ornamental elephant, possibly inspired by the papier-mâché model at the Moulin Rouge, forms the base of a decorative platform at the top of which anarchist critic Félix Fénéon strikes a dramatic pose. Fénéon recited the prologue for the production, which opened Jan 22, 1895 at the Théâtre de l’Oeuvre in Paris. Lautrec also designed the sets for the fifth act.

Artist

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Date

1895

Medium

Lithograph printed in blue

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Bequest of Ruth A. Mueller, 2015