1955
Original Toulouse-Lautrec Poster “The Clownese Cha-u-kao”-
Affiches,
eaux-fortes, lithographies.
Maison de la
Pensée française. 27 octobre - 11 décembre 1955
Size: 17 ¾ x
26 ½ inches (45 x 67 cm)
Lithograph print by F. Mourlot, Paris
Original exhibition lithography poster by Toulouse
Lautrec for the exhibition at “Maison de La pensée Française”.
The Poster is linen backed and in excellent condition.
The image is a wonderful reproduction of Lautrec’s
original 1896 lithograph “The Clownese Cha-u-kao”.
The Clownese Cha-u-kao was a dancer and clown at
the Nouveau Cirque and the Moulin Rouge. Cha-U-Kao owes her Japanese
sounding name to the phonetic transcription of the French words
"chahut" (an acrobatic dance derived from the cancan) and
"chaos" referring to the uproar that occurred when she came on stage.
Like La Goulue, Cha-U-Kao is a recurring figure in the
painter's work and belongs to the world of Parisian showbiz in the late 19th
century. Her work as a clown and sometimes even an acrobat nonetheless brought
her closer to the circus tradition – which also fascinated the painter – than
to the cabarets.