This event has ended.
Toulouse-Lautrec and Mucha Ten years in Paris
2022-10-15 – 2023-01-09
Summary
While both artists found themselves thrust into the limelight thanks to their first posters, they worked in different parts of central Paris on opposite sides of the River Seine, with Toulouse-Lautrec in Montmartre, and Mucha in Montparnasse. This show focuses on the two artists—poster artists who were two leading artists of La Belle Époque—taking note of aspects involved in their creative output, such as their studios, printers, and clients.
The show provides a very rare opportunity to view a wide variety of works, presenting all thirty-one priceless posters that Toulouse-Lautrec put out in a mere decade, as well as different states* and test prints, something made possible thanks to the Suntory Poster Collection deposited with the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka.
* “States” refers to different forms of a print in which the same work is produced differently, for example, with different colors of ink or before the addition of text, all of which are completed works constituting various variations, differentiated by being referred to as “first state” and “second state,” etc.
Information about the Exhibition
| Dates | October 15, 2022 – January 9, 2023 Closed on Mondays (except January 2, January 9). Closed on December 31, January 1 |
|---|---|
| Opening hours | 10:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30) |
| Venue | Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka 4F Galleries |
| Organizer | Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka, The Asahi Shimbun |
| Admission fee | Adults: 1,600 yen University/High school students: 1,300 yen * The museum may close without notice in the event of disasters or other circumstances beyond our control. * Prices include tax. * School groups visiting the museum should apply at least four weeks in advance. See the schools page for details (Japanese-language only). * Admission for persons with mental or physical disabilities (along with one attendant) is available at half the same-day admission fee (disability certificate required). Apply at the ticket counter (2F) on the day. |
Highlights
1. All thirty-one posters by Toulouse-Lautrec presented together The show presents under one roof all thirty-one posters created by Toulouse-Lautrec during this decade, starting with the debut of Moulin Rouge―La Goulue.
2. Lautrec and Mucha works compared from year to year The show presents the art of Toulouse-Lautrec and Mucha in a mannner that enables a comparison of the works the artists put out each year, starting with 1891, when Toulouse-Lautrec started creating posters, until 1900.
Chapters2 1895 – 1897
Head-to-head at Salon des Cent
From 1895 to 1897, exhibitions held and organized at the art gallery Salon des Cent by the literary magazine La Plume were the most likely point of contact between the two artists. During this time, both Toulouse-Lautrec and Mucha were very productive, producing lithographs for a wide range of commissions and showing their work at numerous shows, as well as holding solo exhibitions.
Alphonse Mucha, Salon des Cent / Vingtième Exposition
1896
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Elles | Fourth State
1896
Chapters3 1898 – 1900
Toulouse-Lutrec's last poster and Mucha's peak in Paris
This was a period when Toulouse-Lautrec’s health was deteriorating. He poured his energy into drawing, and delivered a drawing for Au Bal des Étudiants, considered to be his last poster. Meanwhile, Mucha made a substantial contribution to Expo 1900 Paris through the Austrian Pavilion and the Bosnia-Herzegovina Pavilion. His efforts were recognized by the Austrian government, which made him a Knight of the Order of Franz Joseph I.
Alphonse Mucha, Amethyst: The Precious Stones
1900
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Au Bal des Étudiants | Without Letters
1900
Chapters4 1901–
Toulouse-Lautrec's life comes to a end; Mucha's style matures and attains perfection
In 1901, Toulouse-Lautrec died at the age of thirty-six at Château Malromé, the home of his beloved mother, Countess Adèle de Toulouse-Lautrec. Mucha, who found new resolve to create art for the sake of his Czech homeland thanks to Expo 1900 Paris, left Paris, traveling to America before returning to western Bohemia (the Czech Republic today). Around this time, he published Documents Décoratifs (1902) , representing a culmination of his work in Paris, presenting patterns and motifs demonstrating the marvelous maturity and perfection of his style.
Alphonse Mucha, Ivy
1901
Alphonse Mucha, Laurel
1901
Chapters5 Drink posters from Toulouse-Lautrec and Mucha's time in Paris
Toulouse-Lautrec and Mucha were in Paris at a time when the population was growing, the entertainment districts were booming, the demand for leisure was rising, and manufacturing industry was increasingly active. These factors led to growth in the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages, and large numbers of posters were produced to advertise such drinks. The show presents contemporaneous lithograph posters for alcoholic beverages, such as Pierre Bonnard’s France-Champagne (1891).
Paris Map in 1900
An old map of Paris shows locations related to Toulouse-Lautrec and Mucha.
All the works in the images on this webpage are from the Suntory Poster Collection deposited with the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka.
Event
Connecting artwork with the future—Conservation of the frames of Toulouse-Lautrec's works
| Date | October 23 14：00 – 15：30 |
|---|---|
| Speakers | Iwai Kikuko (art conservator, IWAI ART Art Conservation Institute) |
| Venue | Hall |
Did Toulouse-Lautrec and Mucha meet?—Exploring the possibility and timing of potential encounters
| Date | November 23 14：00 – 15：30 |
|---|---|
| Speakers | Hirai Naoko (Senior Curator, Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka) |
| Venue | Hall |
Surprising Mucha collection—Creating a Mucha collection in Japan, Jiří Mucha
| Date | December 15 14：00 – 15：30 |
|---|---|
| Speakers | Ogata Toshiyuki (owner of the Alphonse Mucha Ogata Collection) |
| Venue | Hall |
Gallery talk by curator
| Date | December 18 14：00 – 15：00 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka 4F Gallery |