May Belfort
1895
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864–1901)
Drawings
May Belfort, 1895. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864–1901). Oil on millboard; sheet: 62.5 x 48.2 cm (24 5/8 x 19 in.); framed: 86 x 71.5 x 8.9 cm (33 7/8 x 28 1/8 x 3 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. 1958.54 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was inspired by café concerts, popular places of Parisian entertainment that featured singers or other performers. This drawing depicts May Belfort, one such entertainer, who the artist discovered in 1895 during a visit to the popular nightclub Les Décadents. Belfort soon became one of Lautrec's favorite models and is seen here wearing the ruffled dress and bonnet that became a signature of her performances. The singer adopted a babyish voice and stood motionless on the stage, encouraging her fans to shout lyrics along with her. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec depicted May Belfort in numerous prints, drawings, posters, and paintings.
- Maker/Artist
- Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri de
- Classification
- Drawing
- Formatted Medium
- oil on millboard
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 62.5 x 48.2 cm (24 5/8 x 19 in.); Framed: 86 x 71.5 x 8.9 cm (33 7/8 x 28 1/8 x 3 1/2 in.)
- Inscribed
- Inscription: inscribed, lower right, in oil: HTLautrec
- Departments
- Drawings
- Accession Number
- 1958.54
- Credit Line
- Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.
- Exhibitions
- Toulouse-Lautrec, Seven Decades of Modern Art, Art and the Stage, Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art, Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre, Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art, Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in Nineteenth-Century Paris, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Der Weg in die Moderne, Nineteenth-Century French Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art, <em>Portraits and Other Works by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec</em>. Goupil Gallery, London (1898).<br><br><em>H. de Toulouse-Lautrec</em>. Galeries Durand-Ruel, Paris (May 14–31, 1902).<br><br><em>Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901)</em>. Bernheim-Jeune & Cie, Paris (October 12–24, 1908).<br><br><em>Exposition de peintures et de lithographies originales de H. de Toulouse-Lautrec</em>. Palais du Louvre, Paris (January 24–February 20, 1910).<br><br><em>L’art français au service de la science française: Exposition d’œuvres d’art des XVIIIe, XIXe et XXe siècles au profit du Comité national d’aide de la recherche scientifique</em>. Chambre syndicale de la curiosité et des beaux-arts, Paris (April 25–May 15, 1923).<br><br><em>A Century of French Painting</em>. Alex. Reid & Lefèvre at McLellan Galleries, Glasgow (May 1927).<br><br><em>Loan Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings, Prints and Posters by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1864–1901</em>. Art Institute of Chicago (December 23, 1930–January 18, 1931).<br><br><em>Tenth Loan Exhibition: Lautrec, Redon</em>. Museum of Modern Art, New York (February 1–March 2, 1931).<br><br><em>Memorial Exhibition: The Collection of the Late Miss Lizzie P. Bliss</em>. Museum of Modern Art, New York (May 17–September 27, 1931).<br><br><em>The Lillie P. Bliss Collection</em>. Museum of Modern Art, New York (May 14–September 12, 1934).<br><br><em>Six Masters of Post-Impressionism</em>. Wildenstein & Co., New York (April 8–May 8, 1948).<br><br><em>Toulouse-Lautrec: Exposition en l’honneur du cinquantième anniversaire de sa mort</em>. Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris (May–August 1951).<br><br><em>Toulouse-Lautrec: Paintings, Drawings, Posters and Lithographs</em>. Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (March 20–May 6, 1956).<br><br><em>Centenaire de Toulouse-Lautrec</em>. Palais de la Berbie, Albi (June–September, 1964); Petit Palais, Paris (October–December 1964).<br><br><em>Henri de Toulouse Lautrec 1864–1901</em>. Österreichisches Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Vienna (June–July 1966).
- Rights Statement
- CC0
- Museum Location
- 101A Prints & Drawings
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