id: 135515
accession number: 1958.54
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1958.54
updated: 2023-08-23 21:27:34.421000
May Belfort, 1895. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864–1901). Oil on millboard; sheet: 62.5 x 48.2 cm (24 5/8 x 19 in.); framed: 86 x 71.5 x 8.9 cm (33 7/8 x 28 1/8 x 3 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. 1958.54
title: May Belfort
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: 1895
creation date earliest: 1895
creation date latest: 1895
current location:
creditline: Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.
copyright:
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culture: France, 19th century
technique: oil on millboard
department: Drawings
collection: DR - French
type: Drawing
find spot:
catalogue raisonne: Dortu P588
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CREATORS
* Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864–1901) - artist
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measurements: Sheet: 62.5 x 48.2 cm (24 5/8 x 19 in.); Framed: 86 x 71.5 x 8.9 cm (33 7/8 x 28 1/8 x 3 1/2 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work:
support materials:
description: cardboard
watermarks:
inscriptions:
inscription: inscribed, lower right, in oil: HTLautrec
translation:
remark:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: Toulouse-Lautrec
opening date: 1964-06-01T04:00:00
Toulouse-Lautrec. Palais de la Berbie, Albi, Albi, France (organizer) (June 1-September 30, 1964).
title: Seven Decades of Modern Art
opening date: 1966-04-26T04:00:00
Seven Decades of Modern Art. Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York, NY (organizer) (April 26-May 21, 1966).
title: Art and the Stage
opening date: 1981-05-22T04:00:00
Art and the Stage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 22-August 16, 1981).
title: Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art
opening date: 2000-08-27T00:00:00
Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000).
title: Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre
opening date: 2005-03-20T00:00:00
Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre. National Gallery of Art, Landover, MD (organizer) (March 20-June 12, 2005).
title: Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art
opening date: 2006-05-27T00:00:00
Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 21, 2007-January 13, 2008).
title: Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in Nineteenth-Century Paris
opening date: 2012-10-04T00:00:00
Mary Cassatt and the Feminine Ideal in Nineteenth-Century Paris. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 14, 2012-January 20, 2013).
title: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Der Weg in die Moderne
opening date: 2014-10-16T00:00:00
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Der Weg in die Moderne. Kunstforum Wien, Vienna, Austria (organizer) (October 16, 2014-January 25, 2015).
title: Nineteenth-Century French Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art
opening date: 2023-01-20T05:00:00
Nineteenth-Century French Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 20-April 30, 2023).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* Portraits and Other Works by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Goupil Gallery, London (1898).
* H. de Toulouse-Lautrec. Galeries Durand-Ruel, Paris (May 14–31, 1902).
* Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901). Bernheim-Jeune & Cie, Paris (October 12–24, 1908).
* Exposition de peintures et de lithographies originales de H. de Toulouse-Lautrec. Palais du Louvre, Paris (January 24–February 20, 1910).
* L’art français au service de la science française: Exposition d’œuvres d’art des XVIIIe, XIXe et XXe siècles au profit du Comité national d’aide de la recherche scientifique. Chambre syndicale de la curiosité et des beaux-arts, Paris (April 25–May 15, 1923).
* A Century of French Painting. Alex. Reid & Lefèvre at McLellan Galleries, Glasgow (May 1927).
* Loan Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings, Prints and Posters by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1864–1901. Art Institute of Chicago (December 23, 1930–January 18, 1931).
* Tenth Loan Exhibition: Lautrec, Redon. Museum of Modern Art, New York (February 1–March 2, 1931).
* Memorial Exhibition: The Collection of the Late Miss Lizzie P. Bliss. Museum of Modern Art, New York (May 17–September 27, 1931).
* The Lillie P. Bliss Collection. Museum of Modern Art, New York (May 14–September 12, 1934).
* Six Masters of Post-Impressionism. Wildenstein & Co., New York (April 8–May 8, 1948).
* Toulouse-Lautrec: Exposition en l’honneur du cinquantième anniversaire de sa mort. Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris (May–August 1951).
* Toulouse-Lautrec: Paintings, Drawings, Posters and Lithographs. Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (March 20–May 6, 1956).
* Centenaire de Toulouse-Lautrec. Palais de la Berbie, Albi (June–September, 1964); Petit Palais, Paris (October–December 1964).
* Henri de Toulouse Lautrec 1864–1901. Österreichisches Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Vienna (June–July 1966).
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PROVENANCE
(Bernheim-Jeune, Paris)
date: ?-by 1909
footnotes:
citations:
(Etienne Bignou, Paris)
date: after 1909-?
footnotes:
*
Toulouse-Lautrec fiches, Galerie Étienne Bignou Photo Archive, c. 1909-1950. Wildenstein Plattner Institute, Inc.
citations:
(Alexander Reid & Lefevre, Ltd., London)
date: ?-?
footnotes:
citations:
(Kraushaar Galleries, New York)
date: ?-1927
footnotes:
citations:
Lizzie P. Bliss [1864–1931], New York, by descent to her estate
date: 1927-1931
footnotes:
citations:
estate of Lizzie P. Bliss, New York
date: 1931-after 1934
footnotes:
citations:
George M. Moffett, Jr., Queenstown, MD
date: after 1934-1948
footnotes:
citations:
(Maynard Walker Gallery, New York)
date: 1948
footnotes:
citations:
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. [1889–1957], Cleveland, bequeathed to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
date: 1948-1958
footnotes:
citations:
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
date: 1958-
footnotes:
citations:
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fun fact:
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec depicted May Belfort in numerous prints, drawings, posters, and paintings.
digital description:
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was inspired by café concerts, popular places of Parisian entertainment that featured singers or other performers. This drawing depicts May Belfort, one such entertainer, who the artist discovered in 1895 during a visit to the popular nightclub Les Décadents. Belfort soon became one of Lautrec's favorite models and is seen here wearing the ruffled dress and bonnet that became a signature of her performances. The singer adopted a babyish voice and stood motionless on the stage, encouraging her fans to shout lyrics along with her.
wall description:
Entertainer May Belfort’s performances involved singing childish but suggestive songs while costumed in lacy dresses and sometimes holding a cat. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was attracted to this unusual routine and a shared interest in flouting conservative conventions—in Belfort’s case, through a public lesbian relationship with another performer, May Milton. Like that of Monsieur Boileau, on view nearby, Belfort’s portrait came to the United States during the 1920s, building on intense interest in Toulouse-Lautrec’s work after his untimely death. It was later acquired by Cleveland industrialist Leonard C. Hanna Jr., a noted collector of art from the late 1800s.
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
Portraits and Other Works by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, no. 28. Exh. cat. London: Goupil Gallery, 1898.
page number: Mentioned: p. 4, no. 28
url:
H. de Toulouse-Lautrec. Exh. cat. Paris: Galeries Durand-Ruel, 1902.
page number: Mentioned: no. 15
url:
Duret, Théodore. “Les Affiches d’art de Toulouse-Lautrec.” La Renaissance de l’art français et des industries de luxe 2 (1919): 381-83.
page number: Reproduced: p. 383
url:
Régnier, Henri de. L’Art moderne et quelques aspects de l’art d’autrefois. Paris: Bernheim-Jeune, 1919.
page number: Reproduced: vol. 2, pl. 159
url:
Duret, Théodore. Lautrec. Paris: Bernheim-Jeune and Cie, 1920.
page number: Reproduced: pl. XII
url:
Coquiot, Gustave. Lautrec, ou Quinze ans de moeurs parisiennes, 1885–1900. Paris: Ollendorff, 1921.
page number: Mentioned: pp. 164, 218
url:
Joyant, Maurice. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1864–1901, peintre. Paris: Floury, 1926.
page number: Mentioned: p. 290
url:
A Century of French Painting. Exh. cat. Glasgow: Alex Reid and Lefèvre, 1927.
page number: Mentioned: p. 30, no 41
url:
Loan Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings, Prints and Posters by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1864–1901. Exh. cat. Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1930.
page number: Mentioned: pp. 23–24, no. 25
url:
Tenth Loan Exhibition: Lautrec, Redon. Exh. cat. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1931.
page number: Mentioned: p. 15, no. 23; Reproduced: pl. 23
url: http://www.moma.org/d/c/exhibition_catalogues/W1siZiIsIjMwMDA2MTg0NSJdLFsicCIsImVuY292ZXIiLCJ3d3cubW9tYS5vcmcvY2FsZW5kYXIvZXhoaWJpdGlvbnMvMTk4MCIsImh0dHA6Ly93d3cubW9tYS5vcmcvY2FsZW5kYXIvZXhoaWJpdGlvbnMvMTk4MD9sb2NhbGU9ZW4iXV0.pdf?sha=309eae021828e073
Memorial Exhibition: The Collection of the Late Miss Lizzie P. Bliss. Exh. cat. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1931.
page number: Mentioned: p. 38, no. 142; Reproduced: pl. 142
url: https://www.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_1707_300061851.pdf
The Lillie P. Bliss Collection. Exh. cat. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1934.
page number: Mentioned: pp. 6, 69-70, no. 66; Reproduced: pl. 66
url: https://www.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_1995_300190550.pdf
Mack, Gerstle. Toulouse-Lautrec. New York: A. A. Knopf, 1938.
page number: Mentioned: p. 176
url:
Lassaigne, Jacques. Toulouse-Lautrec. London: Hyperion, 1939.
page number: Reproduced: p. 102
url:
Six Masters of Post-Impressionism. Exh. cat. New York: Wildenstein, 1948.
page number: Mentioned: p. 37, no. 31; Reproduced: p. 40
url:
Florisoone, Michel and M. G. Dortu. Toulouse-Lautrec: Exposition en l’honneur du cinquantième anniversaire de sa mort. Exh. cat. Paris: Orangerie des Tuileries, 1951.
page number: Mentioned: pp. 22-23, no. 62
url:
Toulouse-Lautrec: Paintings, Drawings, Posters and Lithographs. Exh. cat. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1956.
page number: Mentioned: p. 46, no. 32; Reproduced: p. 20-21
url:
Centenaire de Toulouse-Lautrec. Exh. cat. Paris: Réunion des musées nationaux, 1964.
page number: Mentioned: pp. 74-76, no. 60; Reproduced: p. 75
url:
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page number: Reproduced: p. 179
url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n203
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1864–1901. Exh. cat. Vienna: Österreichisches Museum für Angewandte Kunst, 1966.
page number: Mentioned: p. 62, no. 20; Reproduced: pl. 19
url:
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page number: Reproduced: p. 179
url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n203
Caproni, Giorgio. L’Opera completa di Toulouse-Lautrec. Milan: Rizzoli, 1969.
page number: Mentioned and reproduced: p. 114 (ill.), no. 421a
url:
Novotny, Fritz. Toulouse-Lautrec. New York: Phaidon, 1969.
page number: Mentioned: p. 192; Reproduced: pl. 83
url:
Dortu, M. G. Toulouse-Lautrec et son œuvre. New York: Collectors Editions, 1971.
page number: Mentioned: vol. 3, pp. 362, no. 588; Reproduced: p. 363
url:
Thomson, Richard. Toulouse-Lautrec. London: Oresko Books, 1977.
page number: Mentioned and reproduced: p. 84-85
url:
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page number: Reproduced: p. 222
url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n242
Monneret, Sophie. L'Impressionnisme et son époque. Paris: Denoel, 1979.
page number: Mentioned: p. 314
url:
Cooper, Douglas. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. New York: Abrams, 1982.
page number: Mentioned: p. 106; Reproduced: p. 107
url:
Toulouse-Lautrec. Exh. Cat. London: Hayward Gallery, 1991.
page number: Mentioned and reproduced: p. 332
url:
Denvir, Bernard. Toulouse-Lautrec. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1991.
page number: Mentioned: p. 153; Reproduced: p. 22
url:
Schimmel, Herbert. The Letters of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.
page number: Mentioned: p. 321n2
url:
Kokatsu, Reiko. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 1994.
page number: Reproduced: p. 44, no. 40
url:
DeGrazia, Diane, and Carter E. Foster. Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Exh. Cat. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000.
page number: Mentioned and reproduced: p. 3
url:
Cate, Phillip Dennis, Mary Weaver Chapin, and Richard Thomson. Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre. Exh. cat. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 2005.
page number: Mentioned: pp. 141, 257, no. 198; Reproduced: p. 184
url:
Benesch, Evelyn and Ingried Brugger, eds. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Der Weg in die Moderne. Exh. cat. Vienna: Kunstforum Wien, 2015.
page number: Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 96, 242, no. 40
url:
Marchesseau, Daniel, et al . Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec à la Belle Époque, French Cancans: Œuvres graphiques, une collection privée. Exh. cat. Martigny: Fondation Pierre Gianadda, 2017.
page number: Reproduced: p. 141
url:
Vircondelet, Alain. Dans les Pas de Toulouse-Lautrec: Nuits de la Belle Époque. Strasbourg: Éditions du Signe, 2019.
page number: Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 136-37 (image identified incorrectly as CMA drawing)
url:
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IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1958.54/1958.54_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1958.54/1958.54_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1958.54/1958.54_full.tif