At the Moulin Rouge: The Franco-Russian Union

Original Language TitleAu Moulin Rouge: L'Union Franco-Russe

Artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864 - 1901)

Date1894

MediumLithograph

DimensionsImage: 14 1/8 × 10 inches (35.88 × 25.4 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust

Object number32-69/39

On View

Not on view

Collections

Prints

Terms

Exhibition History

The World of Toulouse-Lautrec, Pasadena Art Institute, CA, January 29-March 4, 1951.

All The World's a Stage: Images of Theatre and Design, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, January 16-July 11, 2010, no cat., as At the Moulin Rouge: The Franco-Russian Union.

All The World's a Stage: Images of Theatre and Design, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, February 7-August 5, 2018, no cat., as At the Moulin Rouge: The Franco-Russian Union.

Gallery Label

This comical image references Toulouse-Lautrec's fascination with the audiences of the Moulin Rouge. A French figure in worker's smock holding a newspaper, Paris Sport, under arm, sits alongside a large, Russian woman who stands confidently with arms on hips. The title of the print suggests a liaison between these protagonists and also alludes to the wider political arena since it was published in January 1894, the same month in which an alliance was announced between France and Russia. The gender of the sitter on the right is unclear, and it has been suggested that the image references Toulouse-Lautrec's wider interest in representations of lesbianism.

Provenance

Charles Deering (1852–1927), Stiges, Spain, by 1924;

Possibly given to his daughters, Marion McCormick (née Deering, 1886-1965), DuPage County, IL, and Barbara Danielson (née Deering, 1888-1987), Miami, 1924 [1];

The Art Institute of Chicago, by May 30, 1930-April 1, 1932;

Purchased from the Art Institute of Chicago, through Harold Woodbury Parsons, by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1932.

NOTES:

[1] According to the Art Institute of Chicago, Charles Deering gave his art collection to his daughters in 1924. They in turn donated many works to the Art Institute following his death in 1927.

Published References

Loys Delteil, Le peintre-graveur illustré (xix et xx siècles), vol. 10, H. de Toulouse-Lautrec (Paris: Loys Delteil, 1920), no. 50, unpaginated, (repro.), as Au Moulin Rouge: L’Union Franco-Russe.

The World of Toulouse-Lautrec, exh. cat. (Pasadena, CA: Pasadena Art Institute, 1951).

Jean Adhémar, Toulouse-Lautrec: His Complete Lithographs and Drypoints (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1965), no. 53.

Wolfgang Wittrock, Toulouse-Lautrec: The Complete Prints, trans. and ed. Catherine E. Kuehn (London: Sotheby's Publications, 1985), no. 40.

Götz Adriani, Toulouse-Lautrec: The Complete Graphic Works; A Catalogue Raisonné (New York: Thames and Hudson, 1988), no. 55.

George L. McKenna, Prints, 1460-1995: The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City, MO: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1996), 298, as Au Moulin Rouge: L’Union Franco-Russe.

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.