Drawing, Two women dancing, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French school, 1896

Study of two female figures dancing the French Cancan; they are both shown lifting their skirts and have their right legs bent, high in the air. The composition is diagonal, and both figures fill the entire page. The figure on the right is further forward, and her right foot and left leg are not shown. The figure on the left is depicted slightly farther back and her left foot is not shown.

De La Vigerie, Paris; Theodore B. Donson, New York; acquired by exchange, 1980

This drawing is a preparatory study for two of the figures in the poster (colour lithograph) Troupe de Mademoiselle Eglantine also in the museum’s collection (see CIRC. 554-1962) executed in 1896. The two figures are depicted side by side in the drawing but appear to be on opposite ends in the final poster. The figure on the right hand-side of the lithograph is generally identified as Gazelle while the figure on the left is thought to portray the French can-can dancer Jane Avril, made famous by the artist.

The final poster was commissioned by Jane Avril, a friend and common subject of Lautrec, to advertise the group’s appearance at the Palace Theatre in London, as apart of their English tour. From left to right, the poster depicts Jane Avril, Cléopâtre, Eglantine Demay, and Gazelle, which is the reverse of the order that Jane Avril suggested in her letter to Lautrec while commissioning the poster.

E.732-1980 was one of several other preparatory studies for the poster, including a photograph of the four dancers (Troupe de Mademoiselle Eglantine, c. 1896, Musée Toulouse-Lautrec, Albi), and an oil sketch titled Etude pour ‘La troupe de Mademoiselle Eglantine (1896, Private collection). The indentations on the left edge of the paper indicate that it was once bound, and was subsequently removed from a sketch book.

Toulouse-Lautrec is best known for his output of posters, made possible through a long process of study and thought, commonly involving drawings and painted studies on cardboard. His recurring thematic is the depiction of the Parisian life, particularly cabaret and brothel scenes. Sometimes classified as Post-Impressionist, Lautrec had the most influential impact of the aesthetic of poster art.

This drawing is a preparatory study for two figures on the finished poster Troupe de Mademoiselle Eglantine executed by Toulouse-Lautrec in 1896. The troupe was composed of a quadrille of French can-can dancers. This drawing is part of a long process of studies developed by the artist to create a poster, a genre for which he was best known. Lautrec was known for representing the stars of the fin de siècle and the 1890s was the peak of the fashion of the café-concert in Paris.

E.732-1980