May Belfort, Title page for "Treize Lithographies" 1898

Curator: What strikes me first about Toulouse-Lautrec’s "May Belfort, Title page for 'Treize Lithographies'" from 1898, currently residing here at The Met, is its raw intimacy. The lithographic technique yields such delicate lines... Editor: Delicate, yes, but also ghostly, don’t you think? It’s like looking at a half-remembered dream. She has this ethereal quality. Is it the pose, or is it something about how Lautrec rendered her, so wispy almost? Curator: Both, perhaps. Toulouse-Lautrec often captured performers and personalities from the Parisian demimonde, but here, we have May Belfort, a captivating Irish singer, presented in a way that elevates her, not in a physical sense, but... spirit. That outstretched hand, almost imploring, but what’s she reaching for? Editor: The lost innocence? Or perhaps our attention. She's performing for us, even in this sketch. I’m taken by the tension. She's fragile but self-possessed, a contradiction I always felt while watching her performances on stage. A kitten held precariously by a lion tamer...or something like that. Curator: A wonderful analogy! The lithograph highlights the Art Nouveau influence through those flowing lines in her hair and her ornate costume, contrasting with the perceived vulnerability in her expression. But vulnerability can be its own power, after all, as many great actresses have proven. Editor: Power, performance... they go hand-in-hand. It's incredible how a few simple lines can hint at a story, an era, and a personality so vibrantly. Lautrec just saw something. Curator: Precisely. He captured the ephemeral spirit of a performer in a fleeting moment, made permanent through print. This is how cultural memory often survives through visual form. It freezes a moment to allow it speak through ages. Editor: Exactly. When you know her context, it's like the image comes alive in front of you; a story in an instant. All from these subtle shadings... remarkable. Curator: Agreed. I hope viewers will find it as powerful and enigmatic as we have today. Editor: Here's to more artists doing the hard work of reflecting society back at itself so unflinchingly! Cheers.