Mademoiselle Nys

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

1899 · Oil on unprimed wood · European Paintings

Little is known about this plucky woman wearing a dramatic, wide-shouldered dress. The inscription at upper right dedicates the portrait to the Nys family, and the sitter has historically been identified as Mademoiselle Nys. She may be one of the many acquaintances who posed for Lautrec; at around the time he made this work, friends also tried to help the artist secure important portrait commissions, but society women soon fled in dismay from their sittings, after suffering insult.

Artist

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Date

1899

Medium

Oil on unprimed wood

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

The Lesley and Emma Sheafer Collection, Bequest of Emma A. Sheafer, 1973