The Milliner, Renée Vert is a captivating color lithograph created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec French, 1864-1901, in 1893. Executed on tan wove paper, this work exemplifies Lautrec's technical command of the challenging lithographic process, characterized by its spontaneous, brushstroke-like application of ink onto the stone.
The piece belongs to a key period of artistic innovation in late 19th-century France, where Lautrec turned his gaze away from grand history painting toward intimate genre scenes and portraits of working women. The milliner, or hatmaker, was a common and important fixture in Parisian commercial society. This classification as a print highlights the artist's crucial role in elevating graphic art during his career, offering him an accessible medium to disseminate images of contemporary life.
The composition captures the specific atmosphere and social dynamics that characterized the Belle Époque era in France. Lautrec often employed unconventional cropping and flattened perspective, techniques partially influenced by Japanese ukiyo-e prints, to give the subject immediacy and energy. The skillful use of limited but rich color blocks against the natural tan paper emphasizes the central figure. The legacy of this work continues; as it is held in a major institutional collection, high-quality images, sometimes designated as public domain, allow broad access to this key aspect of Lautrec’s artistic output. This important example of his graphic production currently resides in the esteemed collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
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