Elles (portfolio cover)

Description

A woman appears at the right of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s Elles portfolio-cover design, beside a bed and a top hat toward the left. The gray printed forms give everyday objects and a neighboring figure a common material presence. The image introduces a broader collection while retaining its own intimate setting, making a cover more than a purely practical enclosure for other works.

Made in 1896, the lithograph uses crayon, brush and spatter and is printed in olive-green black on Japan paper. This portfolio-cover form precedes the later poster version associated with an exhibition, a distinction belonging to the source image’s printed history. Toulouse-Lautrec connects a practical role to visual invention, making the threshold to a collection something worth considering closely. The work’s interest lies in its ability to stand as one image while giving presence to an entire series.

Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec collection.