464 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864 Albi - Schloss Malromé 1901), Mademoiselle Marcelle Lender, en Buste.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864 Albi - Schloss Malromé 1901), Mademoiselle Marcelle Lender, en Buste. Lithograph in colors, on smooth wove paper. (1895). From the German edition of 1,100 published in PAN, Vol. I, no. 3, published by Genossenschaft Pan, Berlin. 36.8 x 28 cm (sheet). Delteil 102 III; Wittrock 99 IV; Adriani 115 IV b (of IV b). A very good impression, Wittrock's fourth (final) state, with letterpress text, printing in eight colours. Marcelle Lender (1862–1926) was a celebrated performer in the operettas and variety theatres of fin-de-siècle Paris. Her appearance in the operetta 'Chilpéric' particularly fascinated Toulouse-Lautrec, inspiring a painting and a group of six lithographs. The present bust-length portrait, printed in eight colours, is among the most striking of these images and depicts Lender in an elaborate Spanish-inspired costume acknowledging the applause of her audience. The lithograph was published in 1895 in the first volume of 'Pan‘, one of the leading German-language journals devoted to art and culture. Toulouse-Lautrec supplied the lithographic stones free of charge to its editor Julius Meier-Graefe. The publication, however, proved controversial: the image was regarded by some of the journal’s audience and financial backers as frivolous and indecent, and the ensuing dispute contributed to Meier-Graefe’s dismissal. – Traces of former binding along the left edge, with a closed tear and a further tiny tear. A few barely noticeable tiny brown spots in the margins. Otherwise in good condition. Taxation: differenzbesteuert (VAT: Margin Scheme).