For You! (from Les Vieilles Histoires)

For You! (from Les Vieilles Histoires) is a significant lithograph created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1893. This exemplary piece of graphic art, printed on imitation japan paper, represents the only known state of the work. Produced at the height of the Belle Époque, this image belongs to a series of prints the artist issued, illustrating popular songs known as chansons de café-concert.

Toulouse-Lautrec was renowned for his insightful documentation of Parisian life, focusing on the personalities and intimate dramas found in theaters, cabarets, and brothels. Here, the artist employs the swift, graphic efficiency of the lithograph to define the featured men, capturing their postures and dress with incisive strokes. His innovative use of the printing stone allowed for the rapid delineation of character, a style that owed much to both Degas and contemporary Japanese woodblock artistry.

The collection of works titled Les Vieilles Histoires provided Lautrec an opportunity to shift from large-scale posters to more domestically scaled, narrative imagery. The immediacy and expressiveness achieved in this medium confirmed his status as a leading figure in the rejuvenation of artistic printmaking. Because the image is derived from an established literary source, it offers a glimpse into the popular culture consumed by the men and women of 1890s Paris. This delicate impression is held within the esteemed collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ensuring its availability for scholars and the general public domain for study.