Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864 - 1901) Four studies of a dog (recto); two studies of the muzzle of a dog and two studies of a bear (verso), 1877-1884 Pencil on prepared paper 15.9 x 25.7 cm Other inscriptions: recent, in pencil, '70bis' (recto) and '89bis' and '80bis' (verso) Provenance: private collection, France; Alain Brun, Pessac, France (at least until 16.12.2019); Christie's, Paris, 19.04.2021 (lot 261) Certificates: declaration of the Comité Toulouse-Lautrec, 16.12.2019, relating to the entire notebook (in anastatic copy) and photo certificate with embossed stamp of the Comité Toulouse-Lautrec, 16.12.2019, relating to the drawing (in original) Conservation status. Support: a few slight creases, treated blooms, a few stains (85%) Conservation status. Surface: paper considerably darkened due to exposure to light (70%) The sheet, drawn on both sides and from a carnet that will be published in the next supplement to the Catalogue raisonné of the artist, belongs to the early production of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The way the anatomy of the animals is treated compares well with many drawings of similar subject matter catalogued by Madeleine Grillaert Dortu, e.g. D630 ("Bear Hunt", 1877), D1547 and D1548 ("Dogs", c. 1880); D1750 ("Dog's Muzzle", c. 1880). More in detail, the differences in style in the drawing of the bear and in the drawings of the dogs (apart from the highly stylised darting one) suggest that the sheet contains graphic notes somewhat spaced out in time, partly drawn from life (the dogs) and partly of invention (the bear, perhaps imagining its movement from a photograph). Among the sketches devoted to the dogs, two profiles stand out that are consistent with the spotted dog that Toulouse-Lautrec had as a boy, reproduced in a photograph datable to 1877 (Dortu, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre de Toulouse-Lautrec, New York, 1971, vol. I, p. 93, ill. 132). The second dog - however, only in the muzzle - also resembles a dog loved by the artist, depicted already in his later years in a photo of 1884 (Dortu 1971, vol. I, p. 94, ill. 140) and in a later photo, reproduced here in comparison with the drawing. The communication skills of Toulouse-Lautrec - whose genius culminated in the famous posters - also stand out in this youthful work, to the extent that the Fine Art America company used it in a series of design projects for bags, diaries, mobile phone covers, shirts, etc. (visible here among the comparison photos), especially taking up the image of the full-length dog. Because of the strength and sympathy it exudes, the design, since its appearance in 2021, has also rapidly become popular in online photo libraries specialising in art (e.g. https://artvee.com/dl/etudes-de-chiens/).