Old Horse (Le vieux cheval)

Old Horse (Le vieux cheval) is a lithograph on wove paper created by the French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1897. This print, executed late in the artist’s brief career, exemplifies the technical mastery he achieved in the medium, cementing his role as a pioneer of modern graphic arts. Produced during the critical transitional period of 1876 to 1900, the work reflects the artist's intense focus on Parisian life, often concentrating on subjects outside the glamorous mainstream of the Belle Époque.

While Toulouse-Lautrec is best known for his dynamic posters depicting dancers and cabaret performers, this piece, Old Horse, shows his versatile talent in capturing humble or marginalized subjects with profound dignity. As a French Post-Impressionist, Lautrec utilized the challenging lithographic process to capture instantaneous gestures and emotional nuance through simplified lines and stark contrasts. Unlike traditional academic painting, his prints often prioritize expressive contour and texture, allowing the character of the aged animal to emerge through the economy of the black and white medium. The drawing possesses a sense of immediacy and honesty typical of Lautrec’s mature production.

The choice of lithography allowed Lautrec to widely disseminate his images, contributing significantly to the reputation of prints as a serious art form in the late nineteenth century. The directness required by the medium results in a raw, immediate portrait of the equine subject. This important example of French graphic arts from 1897 resides in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Due to the timing of its creation, high-quality images and prints of this work are increasingly available through institutional digitized collections, sometimes falling into the public domain, allowing for wider study and appreciation of Toulouse-Lautrec's legacy in modern printmaking.