Adolphe—The Sad Young Man 1894

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec created this lithograph, "Adolphe–The Sad Young Man," probably in the 1890s in France. It was an advertisement for a play, naming the actress Yvette Guilbert and the playwright Maurice Donnay. Toulouse-Lautrec was interested in Parisian nightlife, and many of his works depict performers from the demimonde. The sketch-like quality of the work lends it a sense of spontaneity. The figure of the sad young man is an instantly recognizable type, a symbol of the modern artist as a melancholic outsider. In this case, the young man may also be a recognizable character from the play itself. The poster's claim that it only cost one franc would have made art accessible for all. The history of advertising and printmaking can tell us a great deal about the commercial art world of turn-of-the-century Paris. A trip to a print archive may help you uncover more of the play’s history and its reception.