Elles (series)

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Elles (Them) is a 1896 series of color lithographs created by French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. They are part of his series of works based on scenes from French brothels he was known to visit from 1892 to 1895.[1] Elles was first published by Gustave Pellet and exhibited in Paris at the 20th Salon des Cent on April 22, 1896. The show attracted little initial attention and sold poorly, as it portrayed a sympathetic depiction of prostitutes undergoing their everyday routine devoid of eroticism. Artist Edvard Munch was known to have bought an entire set of lithographs.[2]

Background

In the mid-1890s, French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901) frequented brothels on the rue d'Amboise and the rue des Moulins.[3] He often took friends or relatives along with him to socialize in the brothels. He was open about his predilection for prostitutes, feeling more at home among them than in aristocratic society where he was treated as an outcast due to his disability of being short-statured. Lautrec had the outward appearance of dwarfism, attributed to a genetic condition. At home in the brothels, he was known as "Monsieur Henri" where he would draw the women during their downtime. Biographer Julia Frey writes that Lautrec, "became, in a sense, one of the family to the women in the brothels, a friend and confidant, eating meals with them, getting to know their problems, participating in their gossip, observing them in their various occupations and pleasures." He even helped decorate the brothels. Along the way, he created hundreds of paintings and drawings of prostitutes going about their everyday life. When his mother eventually found out, she asked a priest to take him to task. In response, Lautrec told the priest, "I'm digging my grave with my cock". Lautrec died in 1901 due to complications from syphilis and alcoholism.[2]

Series

The series contains an album of 12 lithographic prints, two of which are the same image used separately for a cover and frontispiece. A 13th print, also of the same image, was used as a poster advertising the series, leaving only 11 original artworks in the series. The Cleveland Museum of Art holds a set of 11 lithographs.[4] None of the works in the series are considered erotic, which perhaps contributed to their lack of commercial success. Lautrec was said to have sympathized with the women in the brothels and humanized their depiction as prostitutes, showing them undergoing their everyday routines.[5]

  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Elles- Frontispiece - 1950.601 - Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg

    Poster for the exhibition

  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Folder for Frontispiece of Elles - 1925.1204.12 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif

    Cover

  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Elles - 1925.1204 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif

    Frontispiece

  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Elles- The Seated Clown, Mlle Cha-u-Ka-o - 1925.1204.2 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif

    The Seated Clown, Mlle Cha-u-Ka-o

  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Elles- Woman Carrying a Tray, Mme. Baron and Mlle. Popo - 1925.1204.3 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif

    Woman Carrying a Tray, Mme. Baron and Mlle. Popo

  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Elles- Woman Sleeping - 1925.1204.4 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif

    Woman Sleeping

  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Elles- Woman at the Tub - 1925.1204.5 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif

    Woman at the Tub

  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Elles- The Toilet - 1925.1204.6 - Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg

    The Toilet

  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Elles- Woman Combing Her Hair - 1925.1204.8 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif

    Woman Combing Her Hair

  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Elles- Woman In a Corset - 1925.1204.10 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif

    Woman in a Corset

  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Elles- Woman Lying on Her Back - 1925.1204.11 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif

    Woman Lying on Her Back

  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Elles- Woman with a Hand Mirror - 1925.1204.7 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif

    Woman with a Hand Mirror

  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Elles- Woman in Bed - 1925.1204.9 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif

    Woman in Bed

Exhibition

The Cleveland Museum of Art exhibited selections from the series in 1986 (Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in 19th-Century Paris) and in 2013 (Prints by Toulouse-Lautrec and Bonnard).[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Donson, Theodore. B.; Griepp, M. M. (1982). Great Lithographs by Toulouse-Lautrec. Dover Publications. ISBN 9780486243597. OCLC 8452052.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Frey, Julia (1994). Toulouse-Lautrec: A Life. New York: Viking. pp. 341-346; 417-418. ISBN 067080844X. OCLC 30543728.
  3. ↑ Bakker, N., Pludermacher, I., Robert, M., Thomson, R. (2015). Splendours and Miseries: Images of Prostitution in France, 1850-1910. Norway: Musée d'Orsay. ISBN 9782081372740. OCLC 927159795.
  4. ↑ Kretzschmar, Sabine (February 1996). "Sets and Series". Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Cleveland Museum of Art. 36 (2): 8.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in 19th-Century Paris. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 14, 2012-January 20, 2013; Prints by Toulouse-Lautrec and Bonnard. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 3, 1985-March 2, 1986).

Further reading

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