Divan Japonais

With over 200 prints from the so-called Belle Epoque, the Bremen Kunstverein’s collection of French posters is reckoned to be among the largest of its kind in Germany. This well-known poster by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was an advertisement for the Divan Japonais, a small café-concert hall in Montmartre decorated in the Japanese style. In the foreground is a silhouette of Jane Avril, a friend of the artist, famous for her wild and obscene dance performances. Her companion is Edouard Dujardin, the writer and founder of the Revue Wagneriénne. Above the outlines of the violin necks and the baton of the conductor in the orchestra pit, Toulouse-Lautrec allows us a glimpse of the stage, where the chanson singer Yvette Guilbert is performing. Since by this time Guilbert had long been working in larger establishments, Toulouse-Lautrec had to portray her without her head for reasons of advertising regulations. Nevertheless, she may be clearly identified by her signature long black gloves.