Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

In January 1900, the Théâtre Antoine premiered Jean Richepin’s play *La Gitane* – a tale of a cruel seductress – with the actress Marthe Mellot in the title role. At her request, Lautrec designed the show’s poster, depicting the actress with just a few bold, almost caricatural strokes, set against a powerful, abstract zigzag pattern.The work is organised around a vigorous diagonal line traced by the figures and echoed by the line of the mountains. The gypsy’s cruelty is accentuated by the use of angular lines. Silhouetted in the background, the figure of the main character appears ghostly and, through its monumental verticality, proclaims her triumph over the sombre figure of the spurned lover. The latter retreats in a flight set along a diagonal that leads him out of the frame. The flat olive-green background, against which the figures stand out, emphasises the contrast between the angular, imposing statue of the contemptuous woman and the tortuous line that outlines the neglected figure. The drawing is reduced to a few lines; the setting and characters are rendered in very limited swathes of colour or non-colours. A superb achievement in layout and expressive economy, La Gitane is Lautrec’s final poster. 

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