La Troupe de Mademoiselle Eglantine

Mademoiselle Eglantine's Troupe perfectly captures the essence of Toulouse-Lautrec's artistic style - we find dancers from the late 19th century within a bright advertisement poster.

The artist would use lithographic techniques to produce large numbers of copies of his original designs. These could be dispersed around the city in order to promote various events. He would advertise cabaret acts and other theatrical topics before other companies started to also seek out his services. He advertised novels, for example, and othr cultural products which suited his artistic style. Within La Troupe de Mademoiselle Eglantine we find four women dressed in elaborate outfits which are lifted up as they kick out their feet in a familiar dance. Lithographic techniques allowed the artist to add additional colours when printing the designs, and in this example he adds yellow across the background and blue across their headwear. The lettering is given a bold red tone which may have faded a little in the years that have passed since.

You might notice Jane Avril featured on this poster - she was a friend of the artist and also even examined some of his lithographic prints from time to time. Toulouse-Lautrec spent much of his time around Montmartre, a creative district in Paris, visiting cafes, bars and concert halls. Despite his high status background, he loved to be around the lower levels of society, where he felt considerably more welcome. The one downside was how it also encouraged his own misdemeanors, and his use of alcohol would slowly become a major issue for his health. Ultimately he would pass away young because of this, but one can feel pleased about just what he managed to achieve across his short lifetime, despite the physical issues that he experienced throughout.

Many of the lithographic prints have been lost, but so many were produced at the time that collectors have been able to pick up many of these items. Several public galleries now offer these as part of their display on this artist, and the posters form an important part of his oeuvre. The additional benefit at the time was in how it spread this artistic style, as well as the artist's own reputation as people became familiar with poster art, and understood the leading exponents of this exciting, modern genre. Jane Avril remains considered an important part of his life during the late 19th century.