Toulouse-Lautrec:
P. Sescau Photographe
Click on the poster for a larger reproduction

THE photographer Paul Sescau was one of Lautrec's drinking companions. His reputation among his friends was that of a lady's man, and he was commonly supposed to entice women into his studio for photographic purposes then seduce them.

Here, Sescau's intended model seems to race out of the picture frame, cropped on three sides as she flees his scrutiny. A marvellously nervous creature, dressed for a masked ball in a fluttery domino and mask, perhaps she was posing in her costume until realizing the photographer's amorous intentions behind his camera cloth. Her lorgnette indicates that she has inspected the situation, and the pattern of question marks on her costume suggests her state of confusion and doubt.

This is Lautrec at his best, naughty but wry, economic, and absolutely intrepid in exploiting compositional inconsistencies. The yellow of the lady's yellow mask is a rarity, found only in a few known impressions of this poster.

P. Sescau Photographe
1896; Desloge 101; W P22b; D 353
Lithograph in four colors. 23 5/8 x 31 1/2 inches.
Artist's monogram, lower right. Text by another hand.
Gift of the Baldwin M. Baldwin Foundation, 1987:51

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