Reine de Joie (Queen of Joy)
Reine de Joie (Queen of Joy)

Currently not on view

Reine de Joie (Queen of Joy),

1892

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1864–1901; born Albi, France; died Château de Malromé, Saint-André-du-Bois, France
Printed by Edward Ancourt, French, active 1860–90s
x1964-23
This commercial poster afforded Lautrec the opportunity to engage in one of his darkest subjects—the world of prostitution. The Queen of Joy was created as an advertisement for a popular novel by Victor Joze, known in his day for risqué narratives of the Montmartre nightlife enjoyed by the literary and artistic avant-garde in Paris. Here, Lautrec presents a sinister side of social satire, illustrating a scene from the novel in which a flamboyant courtesan agrees to become the kept woman of a wealthy banker, who has been negatively portrayed both in the book and on the poster as a stereotype—revealing an anti-Semitic sentiment regrettably not uncommon in the 1890s.

Information

Title
Reine de Joie (Queen of Joy)
Dates

1892

Maker
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Printed by Edward Ancourt
Medium
Color lithographed poster
Dimensions
sight: 148 × 98 cm (58 1/4 × 38 9/16 in.) frame: 152.4 × 102.2 × 3.2 cm (60 × 40 1/4 × 1 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Sally Sample Aall
Object Number
x1964-23
Place Made

Europe, France, Paris

Inscription
Signed in stone, lower left: TLautrec Inscribed in stone, lower left to right: Reine de Joie / par / Victor Joze / chez tous les / libraires Inscribed in stone, lower right: imp. Edw. ANCOURT & CIE PARIS
Reference Numbers
Adhémar 5; Adriani 5; Delteil 342; Wittrock 3
Type
prints, lithographs, posters
Materials
lithographic ink
Techniques
lithography
Subject
tables (support furniture), sitting, men, figures (representations), women, prostitutes

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