The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 25, 2024

Monsieur Boileau at the Café

Monsieur Boileau at the Café

1893
(French, 1864–1901)
Sheet: 80.3 x 65 cm (31 5/8 x 25 9/16 in.); Framed: 105.4 x 89.5 x 8.3 cm (41 1/2 x 35 1/4 x 3 1/4 in.)
Catalogue raisonné: Dortu P.465
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The green drink on the table is probably absinthe, a popular drink with artists at the time that was thought to have hallucinogenic properties.

Description

Cleveland’s 1925 purchase of this work by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec marked the first acquisition of one of the artist’s drawings by a museum in the United States. Its subject, Monsieur Boileau, was a gossip columnist known to drink heavily at Le Mirliton, a nightclub. Here, saturated, acidic tones evoke the room’s gas lamps and thinned oil paint absorbs into its support, producing texture that complements the scene’s grittiness. In his own time, Toulouse-Lautrec was considered a portraitist for such depictions of friends and other inhabitants of his neighborhood. He preferred drawing for its immediacy, using it to record his sitters’ personalities through materials and formal choices.
  • after 1893-after 1898
    Monsieur Boileau, Paris
    after 1898-by 1924
    Baron Lafaurie, Paris
    by 1924-by 1925
    (Paul Rosenberg, Paris)
    after 1924-1925
    (Wildenstein & Co., New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH)
    1925-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Exposition des Indépendants. Exh. Cat. Paris: Pavillion de la ville, 1893. Mentioned: p. 1246
    Saunier, Charles. "Critique d'Art: Salon des Indépendants," La Plume, no. 96 (April 15, 1893): 171-73. Mentioned: p. 172
    Coquiot, Gustave. Toulouse-Lautrec. Berlin: Ernst Wasmuth, 1923. Mentioned: p. 56; Reproduced: pl. 27
    Brook, Alexander. "Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec." The Arts 4, no. 3 (September 1923): 125-165. Reproduced: p. 158
    Barthélemy, A. Paintings by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Exh. Cat. Chicago: Arts Club of Chicago, 1924. Mentioned: no. 1; Reproduced: cover
    Milliken, William M. "A Painting by Toulouse-Lautrec." Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 12, no. 10 (December 1925): 159-161. Mentioned: pp. 159-161; Reproduced: n.p.
    Joyant, Maurice. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, peintre, 1864-1901. Paris: Floury, 1926. Mentioned and reproduced: vol. I, p. 148
    Joyant, Maurice. "Toulouse-Lautrec." L'Art et l'artistes (February 1927): 145-172. Mentioned: p. 155
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1928. Reproduced: p. 40 archive.org
    “Lists of Objects in the Exhibition.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 16, no. 9 (1929): 159–75. Mentioned: p. 167 www.jstor.org
    Exposition H. de Toulouse-Lautrec au profit de la Société des Amis du Musée d'Albi. Exh. Cat. Paris: Musée des arts décoratifs, 1931. Mentioned: no. 98
    Wilenski, R. H. French Painting. Boston: Hale, Cushman & Flint, 1931. Mentioned: p. 277
    MacOrlan, Pierre. Lautrec: peintre de la lumière froide. Paris: Floury, 1934. Reproduced: p. 95
    Independent Painters of Nineteenth Century Paris. Exh. Cat. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1935. Mentioned: p. 34, no. 54
    Milliken, William M. "The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition of the Cleveland Museum of Art." The Art News 34, no. 37 (June 13, 1936): 7-14. Mentioned: p. 14
    Milliken, William M. "Superb Art Display Marks Cleveland Museum's 20th Anniversary." Art Digest 10 (July 1, 1936): 5-22. Reproduced: p. 20
    Toulouse-Lautrec: Paintings, Drawings, Posters, Loan Exhibition for the Benefit of the Musée D'Albi, France. Exh. Cat. New York: M. Knoedler and Company, 1937. Mentioned: p. 24, no. 14; Reproduced: pl. 14
    Uhde, Wilhelm. The Impressionists. Vienna: Phaidon, 1937. Reproduced: pl. 107
    "Cleveland Museum: It is a treasure trove of great art masterpieces from all around the world." Life (September 20, 1943): 64-68. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 68
    Jewell, Edward Alden and Aimee Crane. French Impressionists and their Contemporaries Represented in American Collections. New York: Hyperion, 1944. Reproduced: p. 174
    Paintings in the Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1945. Reproduced: p. 37 archive.org
    Visson, Vladimir. A Loan Exhibition of Toulouse-Lautrec, For the Benefit of the Goddard Neighborhood Center. New York: Wildenstein and Company. 1946. Reproduced: p. 35, no. 22
    Paintings, Drawings, Prints and Posters by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1864-1901. Exh. Cat. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Institute Department of Fine Arts. 1947. Mentioned: p. 13, no. 16; Reproduced: opp. p. 12
    Saint-Gaudens, Homer. "Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec 1864-1901." Carnegie Magazine (1947). Reproduced: p. 257
    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. Mentioned: p. 15, no. 42; Reproduced: pl. V
    Jourdain, Francis. Toulouse-Lautrec. Paris: Braun, 1951. Reproduced: pl. 22
    Mack, Gerstle. Toulouse-Lautrec. New York: Knopf, 1952. Mentoined: p. 268
    Cooper, Douglas. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. New York: Abrams, 1952. Reproduced: n.p.
    Toulouse-Lautrec: Exhibition Organized in Collaboration with the Albi Museum. Exh. Cat. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art. 1955. Mentioned and reproduced: no. 39
    Jourdain, Francis and Jean Adhémar. T-Lautrec : Essai sur Toulouse-Lautrec. Paris: P. Tisne, 1955. Mentioned: p. 86
    Dortu, M.G., Jean Adhémar, and Madeleine Grillaert. Toulouse-Lautrec en belgique. Paris: Editart, 1955. Reproduced: n.p.
    Toulouse-Lautrec: Paintings, Drawings, Posters, and Lithographs. Exh. Cat. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1956. Mentioned: p. 46, no. 25; Reproduced: p. 17
    A Loan Exhibition of 19th and 20th Century French Paintings: Masterpieces Recalled, for the Benefit of the League for Emotionally Disturbed Children, Inc. Exh. Cat. New York: Paul Rosenberg & Co, 1957. Mentioned and reproduced: no. 33
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 510 archive.org
    Lowry, Bates. The Visual Experience: An Introduction to Art. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1961. Mentioned: pp. 72-73; Reproduced: pp. 72, 77
    Centenaire de Toulouse-Lautrec. Exh. Cat. Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1964. Mentioned: pp. 57-58, no. 43; Reproduced: p. 56
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 179 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 179 archive.org
    Caproni, Giorgio. L'opera completa di Toulouse-Lautrec. Milan: Rizzoli, 1969. Mentioned: no. 36; Reproduced: pl. xxxvi
    Lassaigne, Jacques. Toulouse-Lautrec e la parigi dei cabarets. Milan: Fabbri, 1969. Mentioned: p. 99; Reproduced: pl. xxxi
    Dortu, M. G. Toulouse-Lautrec et son oeuvre. New York: Collectors Editions, 1971. Mentioned: vol. 2, pp. 282-83; Reproduced: p. 283.
    Lieberman, William S., ed. Modern Masters: Manet to Matisse. Exh. Cat. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1975. Mentioned: pp. 208, 268, no. 107; Reproduced: pp. 17, 209
    Thomson, Richard. Toulouse-Lautrec. London: Oresko, 1977. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 72, no. 43
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 222 archive.org
    Stuckey, Charles F. Toulouse-Lautrec: Paintings. Exh. Cat. Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1979. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 290
    Tabacco storia arte. Rome: Amministrazione dei monopoli di stato, 1980. Mentioned: p. 184; Reproduced: p. 221
    Henze, Anton. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Leben und Werk. Stuttgart: Belser, 1982. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 37; Reproduced: p. 38
    Toulouse-Lautrec. Exh. Cat. London: South Bank Centre, 1991. Mentioned: pp. 18, 23, 133, 160; Reproduced: p 161.
    Schimmel, Herbert D., ed. The Letters of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Mentioned: p. 205, n. 1
    Murray, Gale Barbara. Toulouse-Lautrec: A Retrospective. New York: Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, 1992. Reproduced: p. 191
    Walther, Ingo F. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1864-1901. Koln: Benedikt Taschen, 1993. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 86
    Robinson, Fred Miller. The Man in the Bowler Hat: His History and Iconography. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1993. Mentioned: pp. 72-74; Reproduced: p. 73.
    Shimohama, Akiko and Chūji Ikegami. Rōtorekku. Tōkyō: Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha, 1993. Mentioned: pp. 22-23; Reproduced: p. 23, pl. 34
    Pelfrey, Robert H. Art and Mass Media. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt, 1996. Mentioned: pp. 74-75; Reproduced: p. 74.
    Cate, Phlilip Dennis, Mary Weaver Chapin, and Richard Thomson. Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre. Exh. Cat. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 2005. Mentioned: pp. 69, 256, no. 91; Reproduced: p. 84
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 14
    Bos, Eric. Absinthe, het grote kwaad: de groene fee als inspiratiebron van de kunsten. Groningen : Boekwerk & partners, 2016. Reproduced: p. 9
    Zmelty, Nicolas-Henri. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: La Stratégie de l'Ephémère. Paris: Éditions Hazan, 2019. Mentioned: p. 150; reproduced: p. 153, no. 95
    Lloyd, Christopher. Impressionist & Post-Impressionist Drawings. New York, New York: Thames & Hudson, 2019. Reproduced: P. 271
    Zmelty, Nicolas-Henri, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: la stratégie de l'éphémère. 2019. repr. p. 753, no. 95, mentioned p. 150
    Salsbury, Britany. “Nineteenth-Century French Drawings: The widely recognized collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 62, no. 4 (December 2022): Cover, 18-19. Reproduced: Cover.
  • Nineteenth-Century French Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 20-April 30, 2023).
    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).
    Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre. The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (July 16-October 10, 2005).
    Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000).
    Toulouse-Lautrec. Hayward Gallery, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (co-organizer) (October 8, 1991-January 19, 1992).
    Modern Masters: Manet to Matisse. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (April 9-May 11, 1975); National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia (May 26-June 23, 1975); The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (organizer) (August 4-September 1, 1975).
    Exposition des Indépendants, Paris, France (March 18 - April 27, 1893).
    Exposition Toulouse Lautrec. Wildenstein & Co., New York, NY (1914).
    Exposition rétrospective de l'oeuvre de Toulouse-Lautrec. Galerie Manzi-Joyant, Paris, France (1914).
    Les Oeuvres des grands maîtres du XIX siècle. Paul Rosenberg & Co., Paris, France (1922).
    Paintings by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Art Institute of Chicago, organized by Arts Club of Chicago (December 23, 1924 - January 25, 1925)
    Toulouse-Lautrec: Exhibition Organized in Collaboration with the Albi Museum. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA (October 29 - December 11, 1955); Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago, IL (January 2 - February 15, 1956).
    Centenaire de Toulouse-Lautrec. Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris (organizer).
    Toulouse-Lautrec. Wildenstein & Co., New York, NY (February 7-March 14, 1964).
    Masterpieces Recalled: Benefit for League for Emotionally Disturbed Children. Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York, NY (organizer) (February 6-March 2, 1957).
    Toulouse-Lautrec: Paintings, Drawings, Posters and Lithographs. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (organizer) (March 20-May 6, 1956).
    Toulouse-Lautrec exposition en l'honneur du cinquantième anniversaire de sa mort. Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris, France (organizer).
    Paintings, Drawings, Prints and Posters by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA (organizer) (March 6-April 20, 1947).
    A Loan Exhibition of Toulouse-Lautrec. Wildenstein & Co., New York, NY (organizer) (October 23-November 23, 1946).
    19th and 20th Century French Art and Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Loans. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 22-September 1, 1943).
    French Drawings and Watercolors from French Public and Private Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 6-February 15, 1942).
    The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).
    Exhibition of French Impressionists from Manet to Cézanne. The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (organizer).
    Toulouse-Lautrec: Paintings, Drawings, Posters. M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York, NY (organizer) (November 15-December 11, 1937).
    The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936).
    Independent Painters of Nineteenth-Century Paris. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA (organizer) (March 15-April 28, 1935).
    Exposition H. de Toulouse-Lautrec, au profit de la Société des Amis du Musée d'Albi. Musée des arts Décoratifs, Paris, France (organizer) (April 9-March 17, 1931).
    French Art Since Eighteen Hundred. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 8-December 8, 1929).
  • {{cite web|title=Monsieur Boileau at the Café|url=false|author=Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec|year=1893|access-date=25 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1925.1409