"Le Theatre Libre" by Henri-Gabriel Ibels, Fr., (1867-1936)

Color Lithograph, 1892-3, Printed by Eugene Verneau, Paris, from an album of theatre programs published in 1897, 5-7/8 x 8-1/8, a few small handling creases in and around the strongman, visble in raking light,  a pale water spot to lower right margin, margins trimmed but sufficient, streaks n gray wash verso, on buff colored smooth wove paper, the colors bright and vibrant. A witty, bold and colorful image by Ibels, a founding member of the Nabis group and sometime collaborator with Toulouse Lautrec. This work is notable for it's dramatic spacing of human elements, each in their corner with the open expanse of the stage in between, exemplary of the Nabis' fascination with Japonisme.