Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec
"Homage to Van Gogh"
Lithograph printed by the Mourlot Brothers in 1952
measures 32x35 cm
signature on the master's plate, very rare and wonderful
The work is a portrait of his Dutch friend Van Gogh that Toulouse Lautrec created in 1887 and which today is preserved at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
The extraordinary work is a pastel on small paper, which depicts the painter sitting in a café, absorbed in his thoughts, sipping from a flute placed in front of him on the shelf, certainly absinthe (recognisable by the delicate and almost imperceptible green shade ), a very popular drink at the time, especially among creative people, also known as “green fairy” and which it is well known that Van Gogh also often used. As the painter recalls, in fact Paul Signac, he had the habit of going to the bar at the end of the day, also because cafes, at the time, were places for artists and intellectuals to meet and discuss, and therefore usual destinations. The work manages to bring out, with great emotional charge, the artist's inner feeling. We don't see the gaze directly, but we can sense it.
In fact, Toulouse Lautrec, who was linked to Vincent by great artistic esteem and deep friendship, frees his lyricism by outlining the profile of his face. Everything becomes substantially more introspective. The slightly oblong stroke that usually characterizes the artist's paintings develops and evolves, here, in a more swirling, more "bristly", angular way, livening up the work and materializing all the internal worries, the sense of oppression, contained in it . The color palette is essential, but expertly selected: green, intense blue, yellow with hints of orange, colors loved and used very often by Van Gogh himself.
A masterpiece that deserves to be known and loved for not only the artistic value, but also the content it holds and which, even today, appears more alive than ever before our eyes.