Lot 159

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Troupe De Mlle Églantine. 1896.

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Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Troupe De Mlle Églantine. 1896.

Estimate: $8,000 - $12,000

Starting Bid: $6,000

(0 Bids)

by Swann Auction Galleries
July 30, 2026 12:00 PM EDT
Live Auction
104 East 25th Street
New York, NY, US 10010

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
1864-1901
Troupe De Mlle Églantine. 1896.

Condition A-: paper toned. Paper, hinged on verso. Matted and framed.

Lautrec designed this poster in response to a request from his friend Jane Avril and her co-star Églantine. Writing on January 19, 1896, they asked him to design an image for their appearance at the Palace Theatre in London, charging him to design it "as you think best," leaving the art to him, but requested that the performers appear in a certain order, and that the theater name not be printed, so they could use the poster for another appearance. Lautrec designed the image based on a photograph he had of the four dancers, who appear in the finished lithograph in the requested order: Églantine, Jane Avril, Cléopatre and Gazelle. The women are depicted performing the Quadrille Naturaliste. The dance had become world famous after it was performed at the Moulin Rouge, and in England a British producer dubbed the dance the "French Can Can." Lautrec clearly appreciated these commissions he got from friends, and in return, infused the poster with his own personal inspiration. He bathes the dancers in the yellow glow of the stage lights, and uses the wooden planks of the stage to highlight the diagonal layout of the image. Their dark-stockinged legs emerging from the large white expanse of their petticoats was both alluring and risqué.

Witrock P21C, Adriani 162-III, Encyclopedie de l'Affiche p. 223, DFP-II 850, Maitres 1900 p. 49, Devynck p. 83 (var), Wine Spectator 43 and cover.

  • Dimensions: 47x34 inches, 119½x86¼ cm. Chaix, Paris.
  • Condition: Please contact the Specialist for the auction to request a condition report.

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Bid Increments
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$0 $149 $10
$150 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $5,999 $200
$6,000 $9,999 $500
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$200,000 $499,999 $20,000
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