Ballet Dancers - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection

"Ballet Dancers" by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1885–86) Oil on plaster, transferred to canvas.

Commentary

"Ballet Dancers" by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1885–86) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Its painted surface guides your eye through color, brushwork, and contrast rather than through narrative alone. Themes to n otice include Post-Impressionism, painting. This piece is held in the source collection's Painting and Sculpture of Europe collection. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864–1901). The work is cataloged within a France cultural context. It is associated with the Post-Impressionism period. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as painting, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Oil on plaster, transferred to canvas) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (153.5 × 152.5 cm (60 3/8 × 60 in.); Framed: 167.7 × 167.7 cm (66 × 66 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include Post-Impressionism, painting. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/9148

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data