48. Jan Toorop
(1858-1928)
Programme du Théâtre de l’Oeuvre: Venise Sauvée

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Toorop, Venise Sauvée

Programme du Théâtre de l’Oeuvre: Venise Sauvée

Lithograph, 1895, 440 x 276 mm., Aitken 77. Very fine impression on tan wove paper with good margins. The program was for a French translation of Thomas Otway's Restoration drama Venice Preserv'd and was presented on November 8, 1895 at the Comédie Parisienne. Certainly one of the most unusual designs done for a French theater program, and artistically one of the most striking, it uses material from from the artist’s Javanese childhood (Toorop, though Dutch, was born in Java), from art nouveau and the masks of ancient theater to convey his message. He disregards both the historical setting of the play and its historical origin to focus on the psychological relations of three of the major characters. But the work is more than just a curious theatrical document. It is a true work of art by an unusual, inventive and fascinating artist, several of whose works have brought enormous sums on the market.