Le Margoin (Mademoiselle Louise Blouet)

Le Margoin (Mademoiselle Louise Blouet) is a significant late-period work by the French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), executed in 1900. This piece is classified as a print, specifically a lithograph rendered on cream wove paper. Created in France near the close of the 19th century, the print exemplifies Lautrec's intense focus on the social and theatrical figures of the Parisian fin-de-siècle culture. The immediacy of the lithographic process allowed the artist to capture the transient energy and specific personalities that populated his world.

Toulouse-Lautrec was arguably the preeminent figure in developing the fine art print as a major independent medium. He used the lithographic technique to produce swift, expressive character studies, often blurring the line between portraiture and caricature. The subject, Mademoiselle Louise Blouet, is rendered with the economic and dynamic line work characteristic of the artist's mature style. While much of Lautrec's output focused on the spectacle of cabaret dancers and professional entertainers, this portrait demonstrates his consistent interest in capturing specific, often eccentric, personalities within the Parisian milieu. The choice of the title's nickname, Le Margoin, suggests an intimate, perhaps satirical, familiarity with the sitter that was common in his graphic work.

As a leading figure in post-Impressionist prints, Lautrec’s unique contribution to modern graphic arts remains highly influential. The work is carefully preserved within the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, where it serves as a key example of French printmaking from the turn of the century. Because of its age and historical importance, Le Margoin is frequently made available for study and reproduction through public domain archives, allowing wider access to high-resolution images of this essential graphic work by Toulouse-Lautrec.