The Milliner, Renée Vert (La Modiste, Renée Vert)

The Milliner, Renée Vert (La Modiste, Renée Vert) by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is a seminal example of French printmaking created during the artist’s most productive decade. Executed in 1893, this artwork is a lithograph, a medium which the artist heavily favored for its immediacy and capacity for rapid reproduction and dissemination throughout Paris. This print captures a seemingly candid moment, characteristic of Toulouse-Lautrec’s acute observational style, focusing on the professional figure of the milliner, Renée Vert.

Toulouse-Lautrec was renowned for intimately documenting the social landscape of Montmartre, moving fluidly between high society and the working class, including dancers, performers, and service workers such as the modistes. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he utilized the demanding technique of lithography not just for large commercial posters, but to create detailed, expressive portraits. This piece exemplifies his graphic sensibility-a commitment to strong contour lines, simplified forms, and often unconventional perspectives that emphasize the psychological depth of his subjects. The work speaks volumes about the shifting occupational roles available to women in fin-de-siècle France, moving beyond idealized representations to present a subject embedded in the reality of commerce and Parisian street life.

As a vital work from the artist’s prolific period, this lithograph confirms Toulouse-Lautrec’s status as a master of the printed image. The accessibility and reproducibility of such 1893 prints helped solidify his reputation both during and after his lifetime, placing his art squarely in the public consciousness. The original classification of this artwork as a print underscores its importance within the history of graphic arts and the development of modern imagery. Today, The Milliner, Renée Vert (La Modiste, Renée Vert) is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it serves as a cornerstone piece illustrating the transition from Post-Impressionism to early modern printmaking.