Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Maler, 1864-1901
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec war ein französischer Maler und Grafiker des Post-Impressionismus im ausgehenden 19. Jahrhundert. Berühmt geworden ist er besonders durch die Plakate, die er unter anderem für das Pariser Varieté Moulin Rouge am Montmartre anfertigte. Mit seinen ungeschminkten Szenen des Pariser Nachtlebens rund um den Montmartre spiegelte Lautrec das Bild einer legendären Zeit, der sogenannten Belle Époque, wider. Zudem spielte er eine führende Rolle in der Entwicklung von Plakaten mit Hilfe der Farblithografie, die heute als ein Meilenstein der Werbung angesehen werden.
Quelle: Wikipedia
French painter and illustrator (1864-1901). Autograph letter signed („Henri“). N. p. o. D. 8vo. 2 pp. on double leaf.
9.500 €
(35088)
To his mother, making an appointment: „Ma chère maman, Jeudi je ne viendrai pas rue de Douai car Jacques m’emmène à Rueil déjeuner. Tachez donc de venir demain dans l’après midi. Nous mangerons nos petites affaires pour ne pas nous manquer. Je vous embrasse […]“. – In rue de Douai, Toulouse-Lautrec’s mother was living, and he also had his studio there.
French painter and illustrator (1864–1901). Autograph letter signed („HTLautrec“). N. p. o. d. 8vo. ¾ p.
8.500 €
(44288)
Letter to his „maître“, another painter who he looked up to, making an appointment: „Nous travaillerons Jeudi et mercredi si cela vous agrée. Un mot s’il vous plait pour me dire si je peux compter sur vous“. – In very good condition, with a few vertical creases, one affecting the beginning of the signature, a block of toning over the letter and signature from previous display, pencil notation to upper right corner, and slight mirroring of the signature along the top.
peintre (1864-1901). Manuscrit autographe en Français et en Latin, composé de quatre pages (deux feuilles recto-verso, environ 30 x 20 cm) avec des esquisses signées « TLautrec » en bas de la deuxième feuille; estampillé avec le monogramme de l'artiste « HTL » (Lugt 1338) au S.l.s.d. Folio. 4 pp.
120.000 €
(47416)
En bas de la première feuille se trouvent deux esquisses à l'encre montrant une tête d'un homme de profil. Au verso de cette feuille, à côté du monogramme en haut de la page, se trouvent plusieurs esquisses à l'encre montrant des taureaux - aussi bien dans l'intégralité qu'en détail. En haut de la deuxième feuille se trouvent plusieurs esquisses à l'encre montrant une tête de profil, probablement celle de Cacus. Au verso de cette feuille, à côté de la signature en bas de la page, se trouvent deux esquisses à l'encre montrant deux têtes de boeuf.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec y fait référence à la mythologie romaine en citant la légende d'Hercule assommant Cacus: Le géant Cacus, fils de Vulcain, moitié homme et moitié satyre, habitait un antre sur le mont Aventin, au temps où Hercule conduisit aux bords du Tibre les troupeaux qu'il avait enlevés à Géryon dans les pâturages d'Érythie. Cacus vola à Hercule, pendant son sommeil, quelques génisses, et, pour cacher son larcin, il les traîna dans son antre à reculons. Le matin, comme Hercule se disposait à partir, les taureaux de son troupeau se mirent à mugir et les génisses enlevées leur répondirent. Hercule furieux écarta de ses mains le rocher énorme qui fermait la caverne de Cacus, lutta contre le monstre, le vainquit en dépit des flammes qu'il vomissait et l'étouffa ou le tua à coups de massue. « La figure était horrible; sa force était en rapport avec sa taille, son corps était immense et ce monstre était fils de Vulcain. La demeure était une caverne avec profondes retraites, et si cachée que les bêtes sauvages la découvraient à peine. À l'entrée sont clouées des têtes et des bras humains; la terre desséchée est blanchie par les ossements. Le fils de Jupiter quittait le reste de son troupeau de boeufs, si mal gardés; ceux qui lui avaient été volés furent entendre un mugissement. J'entends l'appel, dit-il, et se guidait à travers de cette voix. Le vengeur parvint aux cavernes du monstre. Celui-ci avait barré l'entrée d'un morceau détaché de la montagne. À peine dix hommes l'aurait-il ébranlé ». « Hercule le soulève sur les épaules, les mêmes qui avaient soutenu la voûte céleste et par d'un effort il fait voler en éclat son fardeau. L'air même retentit du bruit de cette chute et le poids de cette masse fait ébranler la terre. Cacus, le premier engage le combat et dans sa fureur il attaque à coups de pierre et de... il ne produit aucun effet, il a recours en vain aux stratégies de son père et vomit des flammes avec bruit. Quand il souffle on croirait entendre Typhée ou la foudre rapide lancée des entrailles embrasée de l'Etna. Le fils d'Alcide le prévient et le saisit avec sa massue à trois noeuds, il lui porta trois ou quatre coups sur la figure de son adversaire. Celui tombe et vomissait des torrents de sang et de fumée et en mourant il courue la terre sur lui un large... ».
French painter and illustrator (1864-1901). Very early ALS, signed “Henry de T. L.” N.p.n.d. [but Barèges, septembre 1879]. 8vo. 4 pp.
55.000 €
(47502)
Extremely early letter to his little cousin and goddaughter Béatrix Tapie de Céleyran: „Ma chère petite bête qui prend des lapins, Vous êtes une fille très sensée, et jamais vous ne faites rien sans chercher préalablement le pourquoi. Si vous étiez née du temps de Solon, vous auriez certainement été nommée dans l'aréopage ; vous auriez été fort drôle avec un bonnet pointu et de gros bouquins ; puisque vous êtes sage, je vous ferai un Kado, je vous le donnerai au Bosc. D'abord, le plus précieux de l'histoire sera...
ma béné- diction parrainale, ensuite une collection de poutous, et puis quelque chose de jaune enfermé dans du papier..., cherchez à deviner. Il n'y a qu'une chose que je blâme en vous, c'est votre choix de maître d'orthographe, car c'est un être qui a très peu de cervelle1 ; pour vous en convaincre, passez votre lapinerde griffe sur la tête de votre illustre frère, et vous sentirez un abîme ; il est si pro- fond que vous aurez peur de tomber au fond ; maintenant vous me demanderez quel rapport il y a entre cet abîme et la cervelle de votre maître orthographique, voici la raison; la cervelle est une tripe qui fait l'intelligence, elle est dans la tête ; à la place du gouffre qui vous fait peur devrait être cette cervelle, et voilà pourquoi il n'est pas intelligent ce cher magister !!!... Nous montons à âne, et, si vous voulez nous imiter, montez sur votre maître d'orthographe ; n'ayez paspeur s'il fait des pétarades, les ânes en font très souvent ; pour le corriger de ce vice, prenez l'air indomptable, et bouchez-vous le nez. C'est là le hic. Il y a ici un roi prussien, et je suis sûr que si vous étiez à Barèges vous lui tordriez prestement le cou, quoique ce ne soit pas un lapin. Adieu, ma chère petite chérie, soyez mon interprète auprès de Bonne-Maman, mon oncle, vos frères, M. l'abbé, tante Armandine, Mlle Rose et tout le monde, ainsi que mes canaris.” In fine condition. - In August of 1879, when fifteen-year-old Toulouse-Lautrec broke his right femur in Barèges—just one year after breaking the left—halting his growth completely, it became clear that he would not live the life of a typical young nobleman. Unable to participate in normal physical activities, he began studying under the painter Rene Princeteau, well known for his depiction of military and equestrian subjects. His influence can be easily spotted in Lautrec’s earliest works, such as Artilleryman Saddling His Horse, Assembly of Hunters, and Horse and Rider with a Little Dog, all done the year of this letter. Painting a fairy-tale picture with words in this letter to his young goddaughter, Béatrix Tapié de Céleyran (later the subject of one of his highly regarded portraits), Lautrec shows the captivating wit that helped him find his place in the bohemian circles of Monmartre, despite his physical deformity. An absolutely charming letter written at a crucial time in the young artist’s life, as his body ceased to grow and his artistic talent took center stage..
French painter and illustrator (1864-1901). His personal hardcover school notebook when Toulouse-Lautrec was about 12 years old, featuring the letters „T L“ affixed to the front cover. n.p. 4to. 87 pages written in Latin in Lautrec's hand, as well as his ownership signature on the first page, „H. de T. Lautrec“.
85.000 €
(59806)
Although he adds "Fables d'Esope" beneath his name, the passages cover a vast array of topics typical of a 19th-century child's education, including summaries of events in classical history, moral reflections, religious lessons, and philosophical musings. Each piece is about a page long and headed with a brief title. Brief translated excerpts follow: The notebook begins with a passage entitled "Men’s Firmest Defense Is in Piety," in part: "O Lord, blessed are they who have put their hope in You! For when desolation invades their spirits, oppressed with the burden of affairs, they flee to You, and then, forgetting their sorrows, they draw strength and peace of mind from their source.
You shelter them in a paternal embrace and spread before them the sacred light of faith…O most sweet, nourishing religion and most holy faith, who can live without you." Lautrec was raised by his devoutly religious and overbearing mother, and began his formal schooling in 1872 at the prestigious Lycee Fontanes in Paris, but withdrew in 1875 due to his poor health. His mother's presence in his life at this time is certainly discernible in his writings on religion and philosophy in this notebook. The piece on page 30 is headed "On Socrates," which is followed by "On Fables." The latter, in part: "What is a fable but a tale for the improvement of men’s morals, generally wrapped in an amusing image, in which the pleasant and the useful, although most unlike in nature, conspire to mutually adorn and defend one another? What do you suppose that those ancient inventors of tales intended with so many and such ingenious fictions? Just to tickle the ears of their readers with a vain arrangement of words? Not at all, but rather, when they put trees and animals on stage, their aim was that the bad, contemplating their deformity as in a mirror, would avoid rashness in counsel, avarice in the search for wealth, pride in command, and fraud in all aspects of life." This is an especially interesting piece, as Lautrec studied the fables of Phaedrus and La Fontaine while in school and these likely informed the allegorical animals that appear in his late drawings. He further explores the classical world in "On the Phoenicians" on page 43, in part: "The Tyrians took their origin from the Phoenicians. Those who inhabited the seashore, being troubled by frequent movements of the earth in their homeland, founded a city that they called Sidona on account of the abundance of fish on those coasts, for the Phoenicians call fish sidon. Then many years later, having been driven out by the king of the Ascalonians, they took to their ships, leaving behind their homeland, and founded the city of Tyre a year before the fall of Troy." Although Lautrec’s artwork presents an extreme departure from the classical style, his familiarity with the stories can be seen in his body of work, including his portrayals of Mademoiselle Cocyle as Helen of Troy in La Belle Helene. The last page takes a moralistic slant on classical figures in a passage entitled "On Flatterers," in part: "Flatterers think that they can seek the favor of kings to the extent that they imitate them, but it often happens that they reproduce their vices rather than their virtues, as one or another example will sufficiently demonstrate to be true. It is said that Alexander’s head was bent down toward his shoulder, and his friends were in the habit of also going around with their heads bent down toward their shoulders. When Plato first came to Syracuse, Dionysius the Tyrant immediately devoted himself entirely to geometry, from which it is easily understood that everyone consequently became a geometer, following the king’s example." Lautrec takes a strong stance against flattery in this passage, a principle he certainly held throughout his life—his paintings were decidedly unflattering and direct. Interior pages in fine condition, with general wear, staining, and soiling to the covers. This is an incredibly fascinating notebook rife with content from the young Toulouse-Lautrec. It dates to what was arguably the most crucial period of his development, during the time that he broke his legs, permanently succumbing to dwarfism. While recuperating, he incessantly practiced drawing and painting. A truly magnificent and significant notebook..
französischer Maler und Grafiker des Post-Impressionismus (1864-1901). Eigenhändiger Brief mit Unterschrift „Henri“. o. O. 8vo. 2 pp.
7.500 €
(61556)
Unveröffentlichter Brief an seinen Vater Alphonse de Toulouse-Lautrec (1838–1913) „cher père“: „Je vous prie de vous renvoyer les tableaux que j'avais envoyés à Albi. On me les réclame et comme ils ne sont plus à moi je suis en mauvaise posture. Tout va […]“.
French painter and illustrator (1864-1901). Autograph letter signed. no place, no date. 8vo. 1 p.
2.800 €
(93666)
''Voici une invitation pour vous et une que je vous prie de faire parvenir à M. Lasalle dont j'ai perdu l'adresse. Ces invitations sont valables pour plusieurs personnes (...)''. - Jean Lasalle (1847-1909) was a baritone at the Opera.
French painter (1864-1901). Autograph letter signed. Château Malrome near Bordeaux. 4to. 1¾ pp.
15.000 €
(60901/BN44764)
Yvette Guilbert and Aristide Bruant are referenced in this letter to his friend, writer and art leader, Andre Marty. "The book could not be better. Yvette wrote me a very kind note. As for the two "japon" proofs, they are admirable. Do your best to request them. Geffroy and you know better than I what to do. Keep my copy of the lithograph I will pick it up when I come back and send me the clippings relative to our book. And these eight to Bruant". Signed, "Yours truly and my best regards to Mrs.
Marty, H. de Toulouse Lautrec". - An exceptional letter making reference to his two greatest celebrities depicted in posters, Yvette [Guilbert] and [Aristide] Bruant. Lautrec did a complete set of illustrations for a book on Guilbert, and here he tells Marty how Guilbert was quite pleased. At the time of this letter, Lautrec was at the peak of his productivity. He unfortunately died in 1901 from syphilis and alcoholism. Letters signed with such a full bold signature, "H. de Toulouse Lautrec" are rare and most desirable and one talking about his work, more so. Some damage to edges. - Toulouse-Lautrec refers to Yvette Guilbert (1865-1944), French cabaret singer and actress epitomizing La Belle Époque, and Aristide Bruant, (1851-1925), French cabaret singer, comedian, and nightclub owner. Toulouse-Lautrec's famous posters immortalized both singers. Bruant is now perhaps best known as the man in the red scarf and black cape featured in Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec popular poster..
French painter and illustrator (1864-1901). Autograph postcard signed ("TLautrec"). [Paris. Oblong 8vo. 1 page. With autograph address.
4.800 €
(80865/BN52744)
To his English publisher W. H. B. Sands, who had commissioned a few albums of Toulouse-Lautrec's lithographs, asking whether "the two drawings of horses" he sent have arrived: "Dear Sir / avez-vous reçu les deux dessins de chevaux? Je vous serais très obligé de me le dire au plus tôt car je vais partir à la campagne. / Yours truly / TLautrec". - One corner slightly creased; mild toning.
French painter and illustrator (1864-1901). Autograph letter signed ("TLautrec"). [Paris]. 07.01.1900. 8vo. 1 page on bifolium. Stored in custom-made half morocco slipcase.
4.800 €
(80866/BN52745)
To the French playwright, novelist, journalist and lawyer Tristan Bernard, asking for two fauteuils for the Athénée - where Bernard's play "La Mariée du Touring-Club" was given - and for one for the Grand Guignol. - Slightly spotty, and small traces of former mounting.
French painter and illustrator (1864-1901). Autograph letter signed ("HTLautrec"). [Arcachon, Gironde. 4to. 2 pp.
6.500 €
(80967/BN52913)
In French, written from his summer holidays in Arcachon to the publisher André Marty concerning the publication of a lithograph in the print portfolio "L'Estampe originale". In place of royalties, Toulouse-Lautrec asks for proofs of prints by Eugène Carrière and Pierre-Auguste Renoir from an earlier issue: "Merci de votre bonne lettre, quand au règlement de ma litho je vous répondrai sans artifice. Avez vous un exemplaire en trop du Carriere et du Renoir de la 1ère année. Si oui écrivez le mot specimen derrière et nous sommes quittes [...]".
In a short postscript, he asks Marty to take care of some of Yvette Guilbert's belongings: "J'ai reçu une fort aimable lettre d'Yvette. Gardez les choses à Guilbert chez vous". - Henri Toulouse-Lautrec contributed several lithographs to the short-lived but highly influential publication "L'Estampe originale," including the first album cover and the concluding piece of the final portfolio with the names of the contributing artists. The prints he is asking for are Renoir's portrait of his son Pierre ("Tête d'enfant") and Eugène Carrière's portrait of his wife ("Tête") from the fourth album, 1893. Among his contributions to "L'Estampe originale" are two portraits of the singer and actress Yvette Guilbert (1865-1944), who was one of Toulouse-Lautrec's favorite subjects. In 1894 he dedicated an entire print album to Guilbert, also published by Marty, immortalizing her as the epitome of La Belle Époque. - On stationery with printed letterhead "GD Café de la Place Thiers F. Repetto Arcachon". Traces of folds and slightly creased with insignificant tears to the right edge..
French painter and illustrator (1864-1901). Autograph letter signed. Paris. 01.03.1877. 8vo. 4 pp. on bifolium. In ink.
8.500 €
(82558/BN53729)
Rare letter from the twelve-year-old Henri to his maternal grandmother Louise Tapié de Celeyran, whom he calls "bonne maman", concerning his physical sufferings. After his right foot has healed, he writes, his left foot is now lame, but he is to undergo treatment with an electric brush which helped his uncle Charles: "Je suis plus libre ces jours-ci parce que Maman m'a retiré de chez mon professeur pour me faire suivre le traitement de la brosse électrique qui a jadis guéri mon oncle Charles.
Je suis bien ennuyé d'être boiteux du pied gauche maintenant que le droit est guéri [...]". He still hopes that he will be able to go on a trip to the Pyrenees that same year: "[...] Comme dit le docteur Raymond; je me trouve deja mieux. Nous irons certainement aux eaux des Pyrénées cette année ci, n'y viendrez-vous pas avec nous? [...]". Further, Toulouse-Lautrec mentions everyday events and his family members: "[...] Mon oncle Charles nous a quitté avant-hier et je le regrette beaucoup. Papa est encore ici [...]". - Highly interesting letter in excellent condition, providing details on the earliest signs of Toulouse-Lautrec's disability, when it was discovered that he suffered from a rare bone disease, likely congenital. When Toulouse-Lautrec subsequently broke both his legs in quick succession at the age of 13 and 14, the ailment would cause the fractures to heal poorly, and his legs ceased to grow, resulting in an adult size of merely 5 ft, or 1.52 m..
French painter and illustrator (1864-1901). Autograph letter signed ("Henri"). [Paris]. 8vo. 4 pp. on bifolium. In ink.
8.000 €
(82559/BN53730)
To his mother, Comtesse Adèle-Zoé de Toulouse-Lautrec, concerning an exhibition at the "Cercle artistique et littéraire Volnay" in January 1892, where the artist showed two of his paintings, among them "La toilette (Celle qui se peigne)". The artist already enjoyed a high reputation at this time (not least for his poster portrait of "La Goulue"), and his exhibited paintings at the Rue Volnay were praised by the press and art critics, among them Arsène Alexandre, who wrote an article in "La Paris" on 8 January 1892.
Toulouse-Lautrec is delighted by the favourable response: "Ma chère maman, je viens d'ouvrir l'exposition du Cercle où mes navets, quoique placés le plus mal possible, ont été notés favorablement par la presse. On est d'ailleurs fort aimable pour moi dans les journaux depuis mon affiche. Le ‘Paris' [...] a été jusqu'à me consacrer deux colonnes où on dévoile ma personne sans omettre un détail [...] Distribuez mes amours à qui de droit, votre fils, Henri". - With a minor tear and minor inkstain (no loss of text)..
French painter and illustrator (1864-1901). Autograph letter signed ("Henri"). [London]. 8vo. 3 pp. on bifolium. In ink.
6.500 €
(82560/BN53731)
To his "chère maman", Comtesse Adèle-Zoé de Toulouse-Lautrec: "Ce que vous dites de Jalabert est ennuyeux sans doute car je le crains un peu dégouté. Cet état d'esprit est surtout terrible pour l'avenir car si on le rebute il enverra tout promener [...] Je suis dans les oeuvres jusqu'au cou et suis assez content [...]".
French painter and illustrator (1864-1901). Autograph letter signed ("Harry"). No place or date. 8vo. 2 pp. on bifolium.
5.800 €
(82561/BN53732)
Asking his "chère maman", Comtesse Adèle-Zoé de Toulouse-Lautrec, about family news: "Je suis sans nouvelles de vous, de toutes parts ayant eu souvent mon oncle et ma tante, plus papa. Quoi de neuf? [...] Si je n'avais les douches et le travail, je m'ennuierais à mort [...]. Etant souffrant, il ira probablement au Mont- Dore, je serai seul avec mon déshonneur. C'est gai... tant pis? Si vous étiez là, nous aurions la ressource de la voiture le soir aux Champs Elysées. Il y a là une idée à creuser.
Vous en verriez davantage tout le monde ayant fichu le camp. Your boy. Harry". - Toulouse-Lautrec's family were Anglophiles, and though he was not perhaps as fluent as he pretended to be, he spoke English well enough. - On squared paper..
French painter and illustrator (1864-1901). Autograph letter signed ("HTLautrec"). 27 rue Caulaincourt (Paris). 8vo. 1 p. on bifolium.
4.500 €
(86182/BN57134)
Suggesting a time to meet the unnamed recipient in order to talk about a project that was interesting to Toulouse-Lautrec: "Je serai chez moi Mardi de 3 à 4 et serai très heureux de vous parler de votre projet qui me plait fort [...]". - 27 Rue Caulaincourt is the address of Toulouse-Lautrec's first studio in Montmartre. According to varying accounts, Toulouse-Lautrec used the studio between ca. 1886 and 1897. - Minimally stained.
French painter and illustrator (1864-1901). Two autograph lettercards signed "HTLautrec". [Paris. 12mo and oblong 12mo. Together 2 pp. With autograph addresses. In brown ink and pencil.
6.500 €
(86183/BN57135)
Pneumatic letters to the publisher and gallerist Lèon Deschamps, concerning the publication of Toulouse-Lautrec's famous lithograph "Irish and American Bar, rue Royale - The Chap Book". In the letter from 18 October, Lautrec announces the test prints for the following day and expresses his hope that they will be able to "print right away" at the print shop of Edward Ancourt, where he invites Deschamps to meet him: "Malgré tous nos efforts nos essais ne seront terminés qu'à midi demain samedi.
Venez chez Ancourt à 11h ½ vous verrez probablement la chose. S'il n'y a pas d'accident on pourra tirer tout de suite". - In the second letter, Toulouse-Lautrec expresses his disappointment with Ancourt, who had stood him up. He asks Deschamps to arrange a new appointment, underlining that he has to be there for the test prints: "Ancourt m'a posé un lapin, il m'a dit-il prévenu, je n'ai rien reçu. Nous voilà remis aux calendes grecques car j'ai à faire lundi et p.être mardi. Voyez avec lui pour arranger la chose, et prévenez moi. On ne peut pas faire les essais sans moi. Je regrette ce qui arrive mais je n'y puis rien". - "The Chap Book" was ultimately printed by the Imprimerie Chaix and published in Deschamp's magazine "La Plume". - The earlier letter somewhat creased in the right margin. The second letter with a small tear to the upper margin from separating the perforation and insignificantly stained. Both letters with collector’s marks in pencil..
French painter and illustrator (1864-1901). Autograph note signed "H. de Toulouse Lautrec". N. p. 30.11.1898. 12mo. 2 pp. In blue ink.
6.500 €
(86184/BN57136)
To the publisher and print dealer Gustave Pellet, summing up his outstanding debts from an advance payment and announcing that he will leave eight copies of "La Grande Loge" to redeem his liabilities and take back the remaining copies of this lithograph and of "Intérieur de Brasserie": “Vous avez le 8 Juillet 1897 pris 25 épreuves en noir (Intérieur de Brasserie) à 10 F prix net et 12 épreuves Femmes dans la loge [La Grande Loge] à 20 F net. Vous avez vendu 2 ép[reuves] Brasserie soit 20 F et une épreuve de la Loge à 20 F soit total 40 F.
Vous m'avez avancé sur le tout 200 reste dû 160. Je vous laisse donc 8 épreuves de la Loge en dépôt et reprends possession du reste [...]". The note was probably written in Pellet's absence in his small library and print shop at 9 quai Voltaire. - With collector's mark in pencil. Traces of folds and minimal foxing..
French painter and illustrator (1864-1901). Document signed ("H. Toulouse-Lautrec"). Paris. Oblong 8vo. 1 p.
3.500 €
(88860/BN58803)
Receipt for the sum of 200 francs paid by Lèon Deschamps' magazine La Plume for the reproduction of Toulouse-Lautrec's famous lithograph "Irish and American Bar, rue Royale - The Chap Book" from 1895: "Reçu de la société anonyme 'La Plume' la somme de deux cents francs pour droits de reproduction d'une affiche demi-colombier The Chap Book". - With a collector's note in pencil. Some foxing and browning. Minor tears to the margins.
French painter and illustrator (1864-1901). Autograph letter signed ("Henri"). London, Charing Cross Hotel. 8vo. 4 pp. on bifolium.
4.500 €
(88861/BN58804)
Charming and insightful letter to his mother Adèle sent from a surprise visit to London, where he accompanied his old friend, the art dealer Maurice Joyant. Toulouse-Lautrec expresses high hopes for a coming exhibition at the Goupil Gallery in London, organized by Joyant, citing his friend's successful publication of an album of drawings by Degas (Edgar Degas, Vingt dessins 1861-1896. Paris, Boussod, Manzi, Joyant et Cie). He reports on the preparations for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee on 22 June 1897, describing London as being "turned over to the carpenters who install grandstands reaching up to the chimneys to see the gracious old lady pass by".
In closing, Toulouse-Lautrec announces the completion of his move to 5, Avenue Frochot for his return to Paris and thanks his mother for clothes and 500 francs. The letter in full: "Ma chère Maman, vous allez être un peu étonnée de me savoir en bombe à Londres pour deux jours. J'ai accompagné mon ami Joyant qui installe son associé Londonien. J'ai vu pas mal d'affaires se conclure et ai bon espoir pour mon exposition de l'année prochaine. Pour vous citer un exemple, le maôtre Degas ayant autorisé la publication d'un album de ses œuvres à 1000 f. l'exemplaire, j'ai vu 34 souscriteurs affluer dans la même après-midi. Londres est livré aux charpentiers qui installent des gradins jusque sur les cheminées pour voir passer la gracieuse vieille dame. Quant à moi je rentre à Paris pour terminer mon déménagement. Heureuse perspective. Merci des 500 f. et des vêtements, bien arrivés. Je vous embrasse en anglais, yours [...]". - The exhibition at the Goupil gallery in May 1898 would be Toulouse-Lautrec's largest individual exhibition with 78 works on display, but was far from the success for which he had hoped. - Maurice Joyant (1864-1930) and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec were schoolmates at the famous Lycée Concordet and reconnected in 1888. In 1890, Joyant succeeded Théo van Gogh as director of the Parisian Goupil gallery. On behalf of Toulouse-Lautrec's parents, Maurice Joyant was chosen as executor of Henri's will in 1901. - Traces of former mounting affecting parts of the text; three tears to the folds and margins. Some browning and somewhat stained..
French painter and illustrator (1864-1901). Autograph letter signed ("Henry de Toulouse Lautrec"). N. p. 8vo. 4 pp. on bifolium.
8.500 €
(91602/BN60923)
Charming and exceedingly rare childhood letter to his great-aunt Amandine d'Alichoux de Sénégra, addressed as "Tata", thanking her for a pocket-knife and providing her with updates on the family. Toulouse-Lautrec also mentions that his mother was relieved that he has "given up one of [his] canes for the inside", which points to the fateful fractures of his femurs in 1877 and 1878 that would never fully heal and interrupted the growth of his legs. The translated letter in full: "I have come to give you good news about mother, who had an excellent trip.
She was happy to see that I had given up one of my canes for the inside. I also have to thank you for my lovely knife. It is absolutely what I was looking for in terms of blades and appearance. My two cousins left with great courage. The others miss them very much. Kiki is very kind to her 'pannin'. Marianne is a little indisposed today. But granny Gabrielle says it is the fog. Papa's last hawk had just died when the carriage ['patache'] that brought Mama entered the yard. I am having fun with a very nice marten called Gibeline. Goodbye my dear aunt. Mama joins me in giving you a heartfelt kiss". - Amandine d'Alichoux de Sénégra (d. 1893) was not the biological great-aunt of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's, as she was the sister of the first wife of his paternal grandfather Léonce Tapié de Celeyran, while his mother Adèle was the daughter of his second wife. Nevertheless, Amandine remained close to the family and particularly to the young Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, as documented in the charming letter. - Stained and with deep tears to the folds, partly affecting the text. With traces of old restoration..
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Autograph letter monogrammed "HTL".
Autograph ist nicht mehr verfügbar
Intriguing, early and insightful letter to his mother Adèle, written during Toulouse-Lautrec's formative period in the studio of Fernand Cormon alongside Vincent van Gogh, Émile Bernard, Louis Anquetin, and others. The letter gives testimony to Toulouse-Lautrec's feelings of insecurity and insufficiency towards his teacher and his fellow students, whom he admired greatly: "I thought that in my last letter I discussed my attempts at painting [navets] before Cormon. It seems I was mistaken. He considered my oxen to be bad, the little pastiches not too bad and the one in the green [sur l'herbe] good. In all, it is feeble compared to the landscapes that Anquetin brought. Everyone is astonished. He is following an Impressionist path that is a great credit to him. One feels quite like a little child alongside workers of such calibre" (transl.). - The early works mentioned cannot be identified with certainty. Toulouse-Lautrec painted several versions of "Oxen Under the Yoke" in the early 1880s; his best-known pastiche in the narrow sense of the word is the 1884 parody of Pierre Puvis de Chavannes' "The Sacred Grove". His close friend Louis Anquetin began experimenting with Impressionism in 1884, and Toulouse-Lautrec appears to record the first reactions to this new body of work. - In the charming second part of the letter, Toulouse-Lautrec tells his mother that he has "again taken up the daily grind" which "will last until spring", when he "might do colourful things". For the moment, he does not even have "the energy to go to the shirtmaker", preferring the heated studio of his friend and fellow student Albert Grenier, where he lived temporarily. In closing, he asks his mother to knit "a greek cap and slippers" for him, complaining: "The coffeehouse annoys me. Going down disturbs me, there is nothing but sleep and painting. I shall stop myself because I am giving a sermon". - With several minor tears to the margins and folds, partly affecting the text. Minimally stained.