The Box with the Gilded Mask

The Box with the Gilded Mask by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, created in 1893, stands as a sophisticated example of the artist’s mastery of the lithographic medium. Classified as a print, this complex piece utilizes crayon, brush, and spatter techniques, dramatically enhanced by the scraping away of the medium, and was printed in five distinct colors on delicate imitation japan paper. This innovative methodology highlights the shift of lithography from primarily commercial use toward high fine art, a transformation Toulouse-Lautrec heavily championed in his depictions of modern Parisian life.

The work captures a charged, intimate moment featuring two women, one of whom is either adjusting or removing a conspicuous gilded mask. The subject of masks was a recurring motif in Toulouse-Lautrec’s fin-de-siècle observations, symbolizing the necessary artifice, anonymity, and duality inherent in the public and private lives of performers and women navigating the demimonde of Montmartre.

The composition draws the viewer into this guarded ritual, using bold color blocks and varied textural effects generated by the spatter method, which imbues the scene with a moody, artificial atmosphere reflective of indoor lighting. As one of the artist's technically advanced prints from the 1890s, the piece remains an essential record of turn-of-the-century visual culture and graphic design. This specific impression of the only state resides within the prestigious collection of prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is frequently referenced for its technical achievement. High-quality images of this historic work are often made available through public domain initiatives, ensuring the enduring study of Toulouse-Lautrec’s groundbreaking approach to printmaking.