Albi 1864-1901 Malromé
Le Jockey, 1899
Lithograph in colors: edition of 112 impressions
516 x 360 mm.; 20 1/2 x 14 1/8 inches
Reference:
Delteil 279
Wittrock 308
Adriani 345
Notes:
1. Le Jockey is one of Toulouse-Lautrec’s most magnificent lithographs and one of the major achievements of any graphic artist working in the 1890s.This is an exceptionally fine impression with pristine colors.
2. For Toulouse-Lautrec, lithography was the ultimate medium. There are countless examples of his drawings, watercolors and paintings which were studies for eventual lithographs. In his lithographs, Toulouse-Lautrec left nothing to chance and he himself drew every line on each of his lithographic stones. At the beginning of his print-making career, Toulouse-Lautrec usually executed his lithographs at the Ancourt Printing Works. There, he was aided particularly by two assistants: first, Cotelle, and then Henri Stern. Stern later established his own lithographic studio which, in addition to the studio of Ancourt, also was used by Toulouse-Lautrec.
3. On May 17, 1899, the publisher Pierrefort, together with Henri Stern, visited Toulouse- Lautrec, then in a psychiatric sanatorium. There, with the artist, they planned a project involving a series of horse-race scene lithographs to be published under the name of Les Courses. For this series, Toulouse-Lautrec only completed four lithographs (all in 1899): Le Jockey, Le Paddock, L’Entraîneur et son Jockey (The Trainer and His Jockey), and Le Jockey se Rendant au Poteau (The Jockey on the Way to the Starting-Gate). Of these, only Le Jockey was published. It was printed at Henri Stern’s lithographic studio in two states: the 1st State in black and white only; and the 2nd State in 112 impressions in color.