Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
French, 1864–1901
Jane Avril
c. 1891–92
Jane Avril, one of Toulouse-Lautrec’s favorite models, was a famous cabaret performer in Paris. This portrait, however, suggests very little about the energetic dancing style that earned her the nickname La Melenite (dynamite). She appears in street clothes, wearing a plum-colored cape and an extravagant hat, peering sideways through narrowed eyes. Only the unnatural colors of her hair, skin, and lips, set against the green and indigo background, suggest the heavy makeup and harsh lighting in which she appeared on stage.
| Medium | Oil on laminate cardboard, mounted on panel |
| Dimensions | 24 7/8 × 16 5/8 in. (63.2 × 42.2 cm) Frame: 35 × 26 1/2 × 4 in. (88.9 × 67.3 × 10.2 cm) |
| Object Number | 1955.566 |
| Acquisition | Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark before 1955 |
| Status | On View |
Image Caption
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jane Avril, c. 1891–92, Oil on laminate cardboard, mounted on panel. Clark Art Institute, 1955.566
Select Bibliography
Goupil Gallery. Portraits and Other Works by Mr. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Exhibition catalogue. London: Goupil Gallery, 1898.
Galeries Durand-Ruel. Exposition H. de Toulouse-Lautrec. Exhibition catalogue. Paris: Galeries Durand-Ruel, 1902.
Paris: Galerie Manzi-Joyant.. Exposition Rétrospective de l'oeuvre de H. de Toulouse-Lautrec.. June 15-July 11, 1914.. Paris: Galerie André Seligmann/Foch Foundation.. Portraits Français de 1400 à 1900.. June 9-July 1, 1936.. Paris: Bernheim Jeune.. Chefs-d'oeuvre de l'impressionnisme.. 1937.. New York: Wildenstein Gallery. A Loan Exhibition of Toulouse-Lautrec. Oct. 23 - Nov. 23, 1946. New York: Wildenstein & Co., Inc.. Masterpieces from Museums and Private Collections. Jubilee Loan Exhibition, 1901-1951.. Nov. 8-Dec. 15, 1951.. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Exhibit Five: French Paintings of the 19th Century. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1956. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute.. Exhibit Eleven: Toulouse-Lautrec.. March 1, 1960.. 1960.. Wildenstein & Company. An Exhibition of Treasures from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts: Paintings, drawings & rare silver, for the benefit of the Committee to Rescue Italian Art, inc. (CRIA). Exhibition catalogue. New York: Wildenstein & Company, 1967. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Toulouse-Lautrec at the Clark. Exhibition brochure. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1992. Astre, Achille. H. de Toulouse-Lautrec. Paris: Nilsson. 1926. Maurice Joyant.. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1864-1891, peintre.. Paris: H. Floury.. 1926.. Maurice Joyant.. "Toulouse-Lautrec.". L'Art et les Artistes, 14 (n.s.):74.. (Feb. 1927).. Paul de Lapparent.. Toulouse-Lautrec.. Paris: Rieder.. 1927.. René Huyghe.. "Aspects de Toulouse-Lautrec.". L'Amour de l'Art, 12:4.. (April 1931).. Emile Schaub-Koch.. Psychoanalyse d'un peintre moderne.. Paris: L'Edition Littéraire International.. 1935.. . . Beaux-Arts.. June 12, 1936.. Roger-Marx, Claude. "International Art News: Paris." The Studio 112, no. 521 (August 1936). Gerstle Mack.. Toulouse-Lautrec.. New York: A. A. Knopf.. 1939.. Jacques Lassaigne.. Toulouse-Lautrec.. New York: Hyperion Press.. 1939.. M. G. Dortu.. Toulouse-Lautrec.. Paris: Editions du Chêne.. 1952.. Frankfurter, Alfred. "More Treasures Emerge at Williamstown." Art News 55 (Summer 1956). . "Mostre Musei Gallerie.". Sele Arte (Florence, Italy), no. 25.. (July-Aug. 1956).. Frank Hanley.. "The Lautrec Museum at Albi.". American Artist, 7:7.. (April 1961).. Ashbery, John. "Williamstown-sur-Seine." Art News 65, no. 10 (February 1967): 4447, 62. Aymar, Gordon C. The Art of Portrait Painting. Philadelphia: Chilton Books,1967. G. M. Sugana.. L'Opera Completa di Toulouse-Lautrec.. Milan: Rizzoli.. 1969.. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1970. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1972. G. M. Sugana.. The Complete Paintings of Toulouse-Lautrec.. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.. 1973.. Conforti, Michael, et al. The Clark Brothers Collect: Impressionist and Early Modern Paintings. Exhibition catalogue. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute; New Haven: distributed by Yale University Press, 2006. Giorgio Caproni.. L'Opera completa di Toulouse-Lautrec. Apparati critici et filologici di G. M. Sugana.. Milan: Rizzoli.. 1977.. Colles Baxter.. "Mistaken Identities: Three Portraits by Toulouse-Lautrec.". The Print Collector's Newsletter, 10:2.. (May-June 1979).. Zyphius Klein.. "Der Forscher als Bilder-Detektiv.". Art Magazine, 1:1.. (Aug. 1979).. Brooks, John H. Highlights: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1981. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1984. South Bank Centre, Hayward Gallery, London. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Oct. 8, 1991-Jan. 19, 1992; Grand Palais, Paris, Feb. 1-June 8, 1992. Kern, Steven, ed. List of Paintings in the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1992. Kern, Steven, et al. The Clark: Selections from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1996. Kern, Steven, et al. A Passion for Renoir: Sterling and Francine Clark Collect, 19161951. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., in association with the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1996 Brooke, David S. "The Clarks as Collectors". The Magazine Antiques vol. 62, no. 4 (October 1997): 500503. M. G. Dortu.. Toulouse-Lautrec et son oeuvre.. New York: Collectors' Editions.. 1971.. M. G. Dortu and J. A. Méric.. Toulouse-Lautrec: The Complete Paintings. 2 vol.. London: Granada.. 1981.. Thomson, Richard, Phillip Dennis Cate, and Mary Weaver Chapin. Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre. National Gallery of Art, Washington, March 20- June 12, 2005; The Art Institute of Chicago, July 16- October 10, 2005. National Gallery of Art, Washington and The Art Institute of Chicago in association with Princeton University Press. 2005. Ireson, Nancy, and Anna Gruetzner Robins. Toulouse-Lautrec and Jane Avril: Beyond the Moulin Rouge. Exh. cat. Edited by Nancy Ireson. London: The Courtauld Gallery in association with Paul Holberton Publishing, 2011. Lees, Sarah, ed. Nineteenth-Century European Paintings at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute; New Haven and London: distributed by Yale University Press, 2012. Ganz, James A. and Richard R. Brettell. Great French Paintings from the Clark: Barbizon through Impressionism. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Skira Rizzoli Publications; Williamstown, MA: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 2011.EUROPEAN PAINTINGS CATALOGUE ENTRY
Provenance
Frantz Jourdain, Paris (by 1898–d. 1935); Francis Jourdain, his son, Paris, by descent (1935–until at least 1936); [Wildenstein, New York, by 1939, sold to Clark, 10 Feb. 1940]; Robert Sterling Clark (1940–55); Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 1955.
