Cycle Michael

Cycle Michael was one of two designs which highlighted the booming cycling industry within France towards the end of the 19th century. Both were rejected by the patron and so the artist eventually decided to publish them himself as limited edition prints.

The initial purpose was to advertise some cycling products but his style was not deemed suitable to the publication. The artist was still entirely satisfied with his own work, however, and so did not take their rejection too personally. By this stage his reputation was also well established and there were always more companies asking for his services. He managed to strike a good balance between commercialising his talents, whilst also continuing to enjoy relative creative freedom, even if sometimes those commissioning his work might reject his creations out right. Ultimately, a series of two hundred prints were made of Cycle Michael and we continue to see some of them re-surface at auction every once in while. Trade in his lithographic prints remains strong today, particularly when the design has been featured within some of his catalogue raisonnes from the past, or has been approved by the committee which oversees attributions to his career.

Within this artwork we find a cyclist hurling across the scene from left to right, whilst an official appears to be timing him. The cycle is positioned in such a way that it dominates the composition, though the artist did choose to add considerable detail elsewhere in the work. There is a view of the sea, with rolling hills alongside. Also a large building can be spotted in the far distance, whilst two other figures relax by the side of the road. The artist is attempting to sell the merits of cycling itself, and then insert the particular product within that narrative. Various states of the original design still exist today, including where colour tones were added as well as the original item which just holds the original illustrative lines. The overall composition sells the French landscape to us beautifully, though the lack of colour leaves the design slightly unfulfilled as to what might have been.

Several versions of this piece can be found in public galleries, including one at the Chicago Art Institute in the US. Another appeared at auction at Sotheby's, achieving a sale price of $5,000. The entry for that listing places the artwork at 1896, which is the decade in which Toulouse-Lautrec produced a large number of advertising posters for various businesses and individuals around Paris. Cycling felt an ideal match, considering also the artist's interest in sporting events, but sadly the patron would choose not to accept his work on this occasion. He was highly contemporary, and so inevitably not everyone would be on board with his style but it seems peculiar that they would have called upon his services in the first place as this work was entirely typical of the artist's normal approach.