The Horse and The Collie (Le Cheval et le colley)

The Horse and The Collie (Le Cheval et le colley) is an evocative lithograph created by the renowned French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1898. Executed just two years before the artist’s death, this piece exemplifies Toulouse-Lautrec's masterful approach to the print medium, prioritizing economy of line and strong composition over detailed realism. As a lithograph, the work was designed for editioning, reflecting the increasing accessibility of art during the fin-de-siècle period. This sophisticated graphic work demonstrates the artist's sustained engagement with printing techniques throughout his mature career.

Unlike his more famous depictions of cabaret performers and the highly charged atmosphere of Montmartre, this lithograph focuses on a comparatively quiet interaction between a working horse and a collie dog. Toulouse-Lautrec often included animals as complementary elements in his broader narratives of Parisian life, but in this scene, the pair takes center stage. The composition captures the inherent tension and spatial relationship between the two distinct creatures, likely observed in a stable yard or a scene related to the horse racing culture the artist frequently documented.

Toulouse-Lautrec's characteristic style, influenced heavily by Japanese ukiyo-e prints, is evident in the flattened planes and expressive contours used to define the animals’ forms. The visual brevity of this French print allows the viewer to focus on the dynamic negative space and the essential outlines of the horse and the collie.

The Horse and The Collie is classified as a print, confirming the artist's dedication to mastering the technical demands of lithography. This significant work from the 1898 period is housed in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). The preservation of such historical prints ensures that the graphic innovations of Toulouse-Lautrec remain influential studies in line and composition for future generations, and certain related images are often available through public domain collections.