HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC LA CHANSON DU MATELOT. 1899.

15 3/4x11 3/8 inches.
Condition B+: some paper skinning, slightly affecting image; minor creases and wrinkles at edges; slight darkening at edges.
This charming and elegant work is one of Lautrec's last forays into the world of color lithography. Executed only a few years before his death, the lightness and gaiety of the image do not at all reflect his poor physical condition at the time. With strokes of blue, yellow and red it is a free and inspired drawing of a plump British singer performing in Paris, infused with movement and life. Only 5 copies are known, all bearing the printer's registration marks. The assumption is that this lithograph, printed on vellum, was intended for insertion into a magazine (possibly like Melle. Lender), yet the presence of the registration marks implies that the prints were never trimmed for that, or any other use. Extremely rare. Wittrock 326, Adriani 352.