THE Moulin Rouge poster of 1891 is among the very few early works that Lautrec marked with only a printed signature (see lower left area). After this he regularly used the famous chop mark that combines his initials "HTL" à la japonaise, as in this detail from Confetti.

Beginning in 1895, he often placed his monogram within a little elephant. This has been traced to the huge wooden elephant in the garden of the Moulin Rouge, and to a statuary elephant which appeared in a design for an 1894-95 theatre program.

Lautrec's fascination with elephants can be seen in drawings made as early as 1874, ranging from scatological cartoons to naturalistic descriptions. The elephant monogram appears to have arisen out of longstanding personal meaning, but its precise significance remains unexplained.

Many of Lautrec's prints were never signed outside of the printed monogram. The Baldwin M. Baldwin Collection does, however, present examples of the artist's pencilled signature, as in the collector's version of the The Chap Book (1895).

Generally if a poster was to be hung out of doors and to bear the address of the advertiser, French law (although inconsistently applied) required a tax stamp authorizing its display.

If you have any comments or suggestions, please use this form.
Copyright © 1996-2003 SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART