Bonjour Monsieur Robin

Bonjour Monsieur Robin by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864-1901) is an intimate and striking print created in 1898, late in the artist’s highly influential career. This specific impression was executed as a drypoint in black, utilizing a zinc plate pressed onto ivory wove paper. Drypoint was a preferred medium for Lautrec, allowing him to scratch directly into the metal surface. The resulting burr holds the ink richly, producing the characteristic soft, velvety lines seen throughout this composition. Unlike his immediately recognizable large-scale lithographic posters, this piece reflects the artist's dedication to smaller, narrative studies of individual character.

The work epitomizes the graphic innovations occurring in France during the fin de siècle, where artists like Toulouse-Lautrec moved away from academic conventions to focus intensely on daily life, observation, and character studies of the Parisian public. While the identity of Monsieur Robin is not extensively cataloged, this print is characteristic of the artist's ability to capture the psychological nuance of a sitter using economical yet expressive linework. The precise technique and composition solidify the importance of the artist’s contribution to the history of modern prints.

This significant 1898 print is preserved within the distinguished collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, where it serves as a key example of the French graphic tradition. As with many important prints by master artists, high-quality documentation of this work often enters the public domain, allowing scholars and enthusiasts worldwide to study the technique and stylistic traits that define Lautrec’s brief but prolific output.