This summer, until September 23rd, the village of Tourette-Levens, a true open-air museum, is offering the second part of the exhibition of works by TOULOUSE LAUTREC: Cabaret Scenes, featuring original lithographs by Toulouse-Lautrec and also by Henri Gabriel IBELS, nicknamed the “Nabi journalist.” This series, which the two artists, witnesses and participants of the Montmartre bohemia, published together in 1893, has never before been exhibited in the region.
This series, complemented by numerous newspaper covers and programs, comes from the private collection of Albi collector Jean-Pierre Gimbergues. Other original pieces from this era, belonging to Alain Frère’s collection, enrich this exhibition.
As the second chapter of a series dedicated to the work of Toulouse-Lautrec on the theme of performance, the 2018 summer exhibition in Tourrette-Levens focuses on cabaret scenes after exploring the circus universe in 2017. Originating from a portfolio of 22 original lithographs by Toulouse-Lautrec and Ibels published in 1893, this series is supplemented by numerous newspaper covers and programs.
Being of aristocratic descent, young Henri was not destined to mingle with the Montmartre bohemia of the Belle Époque, yet he became a real participant and his name will forever be linked to the glory of the Moulin Rouge. Endowed with a particular acuity to observe and capture the moment, he created a true panorama of this world of pleasure and spectacle, giving it even an air of eternity.
Through these lithographs, we relive for a moment the atmosphere of the famous “café-concerts” like the mythic “Chat Noir” or the “Mirliton,” we dance and sing with Aristide Bruant, Valentin the boneless, or with the famous Goulue and May Belfort… We discover the backstage, the other side of the decor, and witness the human comedy in all its diversity.
Often mistakenly considered simply a caricaturist of the nocturnal world, the painter provides us with a very realistic vision dedicated to capturing the fleeting moment.
