464 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864, Albi – Malromé Castle, 1901), Mademoiselle Marcelle Lender, Bust.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864, Albi – Malromé Castle, 1901), Mademoiselle Marcelle Lender, Bust. Color lithograph 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, printed in eight colors. Marcelle Lender (1862–1926) was a celebrated performer in the operettas and variety theaters of fin-de-siècle Paris. Her appearance in the operetta *Chilpéric* particularly fascinated Toulouse-Lautrec, inspiring a painting and a series of six lithographs. This bust-length portrait, printed in eight colors, 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 provided the lithographic stones free of charge to the journal’s editor, Julius Meier-Graefe. The publication, however, proved controversial: some of the journal’s readers and financial backers regarded the image 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: subject to differential taxation (VAT: Margin Scheme).