Page 166 - Expanded Media & the MediaPlex

Expanded Media - and the MediaPlex 166/206
Maurice Guibert: Mr Toulouse paints Mr Lautrec c1891
Lautrec is a brilliant draughtsman, adept at pastels, charcoal, and drawing directly on litho-stones with greasy crayons to make his prints and posters. These were unusual even in the pre-halftone and pre- trichromatic colour-printing days (the theory and the 3-colour printing process developed between 1850 and 1870) - usually artists would do a sketch or artwork on paper and this would be transcribed/ traced onto the stone. Lautrec, setting a precedent for 20th century artist-printmakers, drew directly on the stone with his waxy crayons, creating prints and posters that closely matched his drawing style.
Multiple-perspective portraits, sometimes produced using mirrors or exposing sandwiched negatives together, were very popular around this time. By the way, Lautrec was an avid photographer himself, but collaborates here with his friend Maurice Guilbert – the two Lautrecs regard each other with a deliciously amused but cool irony.