575

Lot 575: French Cabaret Poster

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:28,000.00 - 32,000.00 USD
Lot 575: French Cabaret Poster
<b>HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC (1864-1901)</b> <p> <b>575. May Belfort.</b> 1895.
23 1/8 x 30 1/2 in./58.7 x 77.5 cm
Kleinman, Paris
Cond A-/Slight staining at top and bottom.
Ref: Wittrock, P14 (iv); Adriani, 126-IV; DFP-II, 837; Wagner, 16; PAI-XXXII, 533
“In the poster Belfort is framed by long black curls under an enormous cap, her hands hiding most of a yellow-eyed kitten. Lautrec presents her on a diagonal plane, her brilliant orange-red dress slanting to the left, her shoulder brought forward in the picture plane to place her in a frontal position. The flat sweep of her gown bellow the frilled, green-splattered sleeves is, taken by itself, merely a red sail or banner” (Wagner, p. 27). Julia Frey’s excellent biography gives some interesting background to this: “ May Belfort, whom Henry represented in at least ten works, had gained a reputation for corrupt innocence by appearing onstage dressed as a baby holding a black kitten in her arms, and ‘miaowing or bleating’ her popular song, ‘Daddy Wouldn’t Buy Me a Bow-Wow,’ whose lines had a double meaning which was not lost in the French-speaking audience: ‘I’ve got a pussycat, I’m very fond of that.’ Henry, enthusiastic, later wrote letters to friends trying to find a mate for the cat, and even got a cat himself” (Frey, p. 382).
<b>Est: $28,000-$32,000.</b>
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