Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Apart from his skills in the field of painting and drawing, Toulouse-Lautrec was also an excellent lithographer and poster artist. This poster, produced to advertise the presentation of the Irish singer May Belfort at the Petit Casino in Paris in 1895, was a great success and won a prize the following year at the International Poster Exhibition held in Rheims. In this work the artist reflects the atmosphere of the cafés-concerts, brothels and Paris night-life, with a strong influence from Japanese art that was so fashionable at the time. The high-quality of his posters made an enormous impact and became a model for the main practitioners of this form of artistic expression.
May Belfort (born May Egan) was a singer from Ireland, who came to Paris via the London music halls and performed at the café-concert des Décadents. After a brief appearance at the Petit Casino, for which she commissioned the famous poster wearing the red dress, she retired from the stage due to ill health. May Belfort was the lover of Jane Avril and May Milton. Have a great week!