Elles (Black and White Cover)

1896

 
18 1/8 x 23 1/8 in /
45.7 x 58.4 cm

Black and white cover edition of 1896, 100 impressions
Printed in brown-black on laid japan paper
Folded in outer margins and center to make cover
Signed by Lautrec in black crayon on the lower right, numbered in ink by Pellet
Published by Gustave Pellet in the Elles series, his paraph shown on lower right
RARE

The Elles collection is Lautrec's most famous brothel series, an edition of lithographs depicting prostitutes simply referred to as Elles (Them). This ambiguous title both recalls the common phrase ces dames (these ladies), and at the same time is the pronoun indicating all females. Although the women of the Elles series are prostitutes, they appear desexualized, shown in postures that emphasize the everyday and unglamorous nature of their occupation. In this instance, putting her hair back up after finishing with a client, the only indication that a man is even in the room is his top hat resting gingerly on her bed. The series was placed on exhibition at the Galeries de la Plume's twentieth Salon des Cent on 22 April 1896, where the lithographs could be viewed by anyone who wished. Oddly enough, the series received little attention and proved very hard to sell. One set, however, was sold to the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, creator of The Scream.

Reference: Wittrock 155, Adriani 171, Frey 417 and 421