Au Lit

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901)

Submerged in crumpled sheets, a woman lies in bed, barely awake. Only her face and stockinged feet are visible among the bedclothes. Lautrec likely drew the model, almost certainly a prostitute, from life. The swift, dashing lines around her legs indicate that he changed his mind about the pose. The slant of the model’s gaze shows a clear awareness of the artist’s presence and underscores the air of familiarity, even sympathy, with which Lautrec depicted society’s outsiders.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), Au lit, Circa 1896 © The Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London.