'Divan Japonais', 1893

Crayon, brush and spatter lithograph

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), 'Divan Japonais', 1893. Colour lithograph in black, orange, yellow and olive green ink. © The Trustees of the British Museum.

Divan Japonais was the name of a newly launched café-concert run by Edouard Fournier whose name also appears on this poster.

The dancer Jane Avril (1868 -1943) who appears in many of Lautrec's prints dominates the image in a striking black dress and hat, with the music critic Edouard Dujardin sitting beside her.
The tops of the two double-basses rise above the orchestra pit.

On stage a back view of the figure of Yvette Guilbert (1867-1944) is glimpsed, identifiable only by the black gloves she usually wore. Guilbert also appears in several prints in this exhibition.