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Lot 431
Confetti. 1894.
Sold
$36,000
Est.
$35,000 - $40,000
Live Auction
PAI-LXXVI: Rare Posters
Live Bidding began Oct 28, 2018 at 11:00 AM EDT
Description
Artist: HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC (1864-1901)
Size: 17 x 22 1/2 in./43.2 x 57.2 cm
Condition: A-/ Slight tear lower left edge. Framed.
Printer: Imp. Bella et de Malherbe, London & Paris
Reference: Ref: Wittrock Pl3; Adriani, 101; DPF-II, 834; Wagner, 14; Wine Spectator, 53; Driehaus, p. 105; Reims, 799; PAI-LXXIV, 449
Key Words: Art Nouveau; Artist: Toulouse-Lautrec


Confetti has been with us since the Middle Ages, for weddings, triumphs, and seasonal red-letter days. But in the 19th century, "confetti" took the form of plaster lozenges. They made a mess. They hurt people. J. & E. Bella paper manufacturers of London had a better way: flecks of paper that were as pretty as they were harmless. The J. & E. Bella Co. commissioned this poster from Lautrec, then featured it as the catalog cover for one of the poster exhibitions the company hosted at the London Aquarium. “Confetti epitomizes Lautrec’s conceptual simplicity; broad masses are effectively defined with utmost economy of means. His deftly inflected lines emerge more calligraphically by virtue of the light-colored image, with its broad sweep of billowing, off-white dress. In this poster Lautrec’s dematerialization of form borders on abstraction” (Wagner, pp. 25-26). The result: Toulouse-Lautrec's delightful, gladdening design popularized the new form of confetti, literally transforming the way the world celebrates.