Relief; 925 sterling silver ; plated with 24k gold
Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 cm, framed in a 17.5 x 14.5 cm frame
Hallmarks: “336 FI” of the Italian silversmith Livi Giancarlo (active 1959–1971), “925” for 925-fine silver, and “2+3 g”;
Stamped “T-Lautrec” on the plate
The bas-relief is based on the famous painting by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec titled “Marcelle Lender Dancing the Bolero in theOperetta Chilpéric” (Marcelle Lender dansant le boléro dans Chilpéric) from 1895–1896.
The original painting is currently housed at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The relief faithfully recreates a scene from the painting—the red-haired actress Marcelle Lender in a striking dress with puffed sleeves as she performs a Spanish dance, with characters from the operetta in the background (including figures dressed as cooks and characters from the Merovingian era). Toulouse-Lautrec was obsessively fascinated bythe actress; he attended the same performance more than 20 times in a row to sketch this specific movement.
