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Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case MM, Shelf 13

Jane Avril au Jardin de Paris

Poster
1893 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Jardin de Paris was a café-concert hall owned by the proprietor of the Moulin Rouge. One of the hall's performers, Jane Avril, is seen here dancing on stage. Avril was a favourite subject of Toulouse-Lautrec's and appears in many of his works from this period, including another poster, Divan Japonais, which, unusually, shows her as a spectator rather than a performer.

This poster demonstrates the visual juxtaposition of the beautiful and the grotesque that was so beloved of Toulouse-Lautrec: the sensuous figure of Avril contrasts sharply with that of the caricatured features of the musician playing the double-bass, his hairy knuckles are rendered all the more conspicuous by their proximity to her frothy gown.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleJane Avril au Jardin de Paris (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Colour lithograph
Brief description
Poster, 'Jane Avril au Jardin de Paris', Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French; 1899
Physical description
A woman in a red dress and feathered hat raises her leg in the can-can while dancing on stage. In the foreground a musician playing a double-bass can be seen in the orchestra pit.
Dimensions
  • Height: 1280mm
  • Width: 939mm
2016: frame - 1373 x 1034 x 40 mm.
Style
Marks and inscriptions
  • H. T. Lautrec 93 (Signed with monogram, name and date)
  • 'Jane Avril' (Does not have the full inscription: Jane Avril; Jardin de Paris)
Credit line
Given by Mrs J.T. Clarke
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Summary
The Jardin de Paris was a café-concert hall owned by the proprietor of the Moulin Rouge. One of the hall's performers, Jane Avril, is seen here dancing on stage. Avril was a favourite subject of Toulouse-Lautrec's and appears in many of his works from this period, including another poster, Divan Japonais, which, unusually, shows her as a spectator rather than a performer.

This poster demonstrates the visual juxtaposition of the beautiful and the grotesque that was so beloved of Toulouse-Lautrec: the sensuous figure of Avril contrasts sharply with that of the caricatured features of the musician playing the double-bass, his hairy knuckles are rendered all the more conspicuous by their proximity to her frothy gown.
Associated object
E.705-2000 (Duplicate)
Bibliographic references
  • Coutts, Howard and Claire Jones Toulouse Lautrec and the art of the French Poster. Bowes Museum, 2004. 53 p., ill. ISBN 0954818202.
  • Ireson, Nancy (ed.), Toulouse-Lautrec and Jane Avril. Beyond the Moulin Rouge, London, The Courtauld Gallery, 2011.
Collection
Accession number
E.229-1921

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Record createdJuly 3, 2007
Record URL
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