Ducarre at Les Ambassadeurs (from Le Café Concert) 1893

This lithograph by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec captures a scene at Les Ambassadeurs, part of his series on Le Café Concert. Dominating the foreground is a stout figure in a black coat and top hat, his mouth open as if mid-conversation or song. The open mouth, a symbol of expression, recalls the ancient Greek masks of the theatre. In antiquity, the gaping mouth was an indicator of heightened emotional states. It allowed actors to project their voices in open-air arenas, yet it also froze the expression, encapsulating a single, powerful emotion for all to see. Here, Lautrec captures a similar sense of immediacy and passion, but the context shifts. It's no longer the stage of ancient drama but the smoky atmosphere of a Parisian café-concert. The gesture is repeated throughout history; from religious iconography to political caricatures, the open mouth is an enduring motif for everything from divine inspiration to the grotesque. What collective, subconscious processes have shaped this emotional force?