Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec — Histoires naturelles: Le Taureau (1899)

Medium: Original lithograph on fine wove paper
Edition: Limited to 100 copies, numbered 49* (from the 1899 H. Floury edition)
Dimensions: 2 Leaves of Approx. 22.9 × 31.8 cm
Includes: Original descriptive text leaf by Jules Renard
Mark: Stamped with Lautrec’s circular “TL” atelier monogram (lower margin)
Condition: Excellent; broad margins, very light age tone, no repairs.

Description

Le Taureau (The Bull) is an original 1899 lithograph by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901) created for Jules Renard’s Histoires naturelles — a celebrated bestiary of poetic vignettes published in Paris by H. Floury.
This example, numbered 49 of the 100 printed, is accompanied by the matching descriptive page.

Renard’s text portrays the bull as both menace and monument — a creature of immense power held in check by calm. Lautrec translates that tension into a composition of rare economy: a few sure, muscular lines conveying weight, movement, and dignity.
The work belongs to the artist’s final years and embodies his mature lithographic precision, executed with grace and restraint.

Scholarly Note

Among Lautrec’s last printed works, Le Taureau stands as a counterpart to Le Chien in the same series — a dialogue of force and stillness.
Each plate from Histoires naturelles was drawn on stone by Lautrec and printed under his supervision in 1899. The circular TL monogram stamp visible in the margin is the authentic atelier mark confirming origin from the H. Floury edition.
Referenced in Wittrock 298–319 and held in the collections of the Musée d’Orsay, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.

Collector Value

Original Floury impressions of Histoires naturelles are scarce and highly sought after.
While later restrikes and 20th-century reproductions appear online for a few hundred euros, this 1899 impression represents a genuine 19th-century lithograph by Lautrec, printed from his own stone.

Autheticity Note:

Many “Toulouse-Lautrec” lithographs seen online are 20th-century restrikes or reproductions printed decades after the artist’s death (often around 1950–1980) and marked “in plate – TL” or “after Lautrec.” This work is from the original 1899 H. Floury edition of 100, drawn on stone and bearing Lautrec’s authentic studio TL monogram stamp. It is fully documented in the Wittrock Catalogue Raisonné and represents a genuine 19th-century impression—not a later reproduction.

*(We attach an image of the Cover and Edition copy which was provided to us by the vendor. This lot does not include these edition covers. These are for reference only)