André Antoine and Fermin Gémier in "A Bankruptcy" 1893

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec created this lithograph of André Antoine and Fermin Gémier in "A Bankruptcy" using crayon and spatter. What immediately strikes one about this image is its deliberate incompleteness. The scene emerges tentatively from the paper, with sections fading into an almost ghostly presence. Notice how the stark contrast between the solid dark form on the left and the ethereal, barely-there figure on the right creates a compelling visual imbalance. This tension can be seen as a reflection of the play's themes, where the actors are caught in the precarious balance between visibility and erasure. The semiotic weight carried by each character is palpable: one cloaked in a shadow of failure, the other fading into the social backdrop. Consider the cultural codes embedded here, the representation of men, power, and visibility are all destabilized by the unfinished quality, challenging fixed interpretations.