Oscar Wilde et Romain Coolus

Oscar Wilde et Romain Coolus by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is a significant example of French graphic portraiture, executed as a lithograph in 1896. This celebrated print captures the renowned Irish playwright and aesthete, Oscar Wilde, alongside his close friend, the French dramatist and critic Romain Coolus. Created at a critical juncture in Wilde’s life, the work documents a period when the disgraced celebrity was living in self-imposed exile in France, navigating the social fallout following his legal persecution.

Toulouse-Lautrec, a master observer of the Parisian cultural scene and its personalities, applies his characteristic deftness and expressive draftsmanship to the medium of lithography. The work is defined by its strong outlines and sophisticated use of negative space, techniques that lend the composition a striking immediacy. As with many of the artist’s most successful prints, the focus is less on conventional flattery and more on capturing the psychological weight and internal character of the sitter. Wilde, often depicted here with a sense of quiet resignation or melancholy introspection, becomes a complex subject for Toulouse-Lautrec’s penetrating gaze.

Produced during the effervescent late 19th-century fin de siècle, this piece is integral to understanding the cultural exchanges and shifts happening between French and English literary and artistic circles. Toulouse-Lautrec’s commitment to documenting the celebrities and marginalized figures of his era ensured that this portrait of Wilde would endure as a historically rich artifact.

This exceptional print, dated to 1896, provides crucial insight into the artist’s approach to modern portraiture and the era's preoccupation with fame, scandal, and exile. The work is currently held in the esteemed collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). The enduring quality and historical significance of this Toulouse-Lautrec masterwork ensure its continual study, and today, high-quality images of this French artistic achievement are widely available through various public domain resources.