‘La Loge au Mascaron doré’ (The Box with the Gilded Mask)

The title of this print refers to the gilded mask on the balustrade of the theatre box. The woman’s companion is a friend of Lautrec, the English artist Charles Conder. The intriguing composition was inspired by the interplay of lines and the cropping in Japanese woodcuts. This lithograph was intended as the programme of a play and is a fine example of effective and sparing use of colour.