The Simpson Chain

1896·Color brush and spatter lithograph (poster) on tan wove paper with lettering by another hand·Image: 81.5 × 119 cm (32 1/8 × 46 7/8 in.); Sheet, sight: 85.2 × 123 cm (33 9/16 × 48 7/16 in.)

<p>This poster represents Lautrec’s final design for an advertisement for a bicycle lever chain recently invented by the London manufacturer W. S. Simpson. Competitive cyclist Constant Huret rides a bicycle equipped with the device, speeding on to victory with its help. This poster sports a much more dynamic composition than the artist’s <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/67203">previous attempt</a>, as well as a more realistic depiction of bicycles, despite the four- and five-seaters in the background.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1896
Medium: Color brush and spatter lithograph (poster) on tan wove paper with lettering by another hand
Dimensions: Image: 81.5 × 119 cm (32 1/8 × 46 7/8 in.); Sheet, sight: 85.2 × 123 cm (33 9/16 × 48 7/16 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Artist

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Painting

Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Montfa, known as Toulouse-Lautrec, was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist, and illustrator. His immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in the late 19th century allowed him to produce popular works of art from decadent affairs.

Albi, France

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