À Saint-Lazare

À Saint-Lazare by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864-1901) is a seminal example of the artist's early engagement with printmaking and his lifelong documentation of Parisian life. Executed in 1885, this classification as a print utilizes the medium of lithography, rendered in black ink on tan wove paper. As a crucial contributor to the post-Impressionist movement in France, Lautrec often favored graphic arts to capture the immediate, ephemeral nature of modern existence.

The title refers specifically to the Gare Saint-Lazare, a major transportation hub that served as both a practical necessity and a potent symbol of industrialized Paris in the late 19th century. While Lautrec is internationally recognized for his later, vibrant depictions of Montmartre cabarets and its inhabitants, this earlier work demonstrates his keen sensitivity toward everyday urban scenes and the architectural presence of public spaces. The choice of lithography allowed Lautrec to achieve the fluid, rapid lines characteristic of his developing style, enabling him to contrast dense black areas of shadow with the underlying tone of the wove paper.

This work showcases the artist’s technical skill in handling the lithographic stone, achieving both textural nuance and dynamic composition. The piece serves as a valuable document of French graphic art and the early career trajectory of the prolific draftsman. The À Saint-Lazare print is housed in the distinguished collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Its historical and artistic significance ensures its continued study, and like much of Lautrec's prolific output, high-resolution reproductions of the work are increasingly available to the public domain.