Waking Up, from "Elles"

Waking Up, from Elles, is a profound 1896 lithograph by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. This evocative print is a central image within the artist’s influential suite of ten intimate scenes, collectively titled Elles, through which Toulouse-Lautrec documented the daily lives and private world of women working in Parisian brothels. The artist utilized the expressive potential of lithography, producing this particular impression using drab green ink printed on wove paper. This subdued, monochromatic palette enhances the sense of melancholy and immediacy, underscoring Toulouse-Lautrec’s characteristic technique emphasizing strong line and contour rather than coloristic modeling.

The subject matter centers on the quiet privacy of these Women, focusing specifically on a scene of transition and vulnerability. The woman depicted is stirring, captured in the hazy moment of waking up, a personal action typically concealed from the male gaze that dominated 19th-century French art. Unlike contemporary depictions that often sought to judge or moralize such figures, Toulouse-Lautrec offered an unflinching, empathetic realism, normalizing domestic life within this specific context. By focusing on mundane, unguarded moments of sleeping and relaxation, the artist humanizes his subjects. These important prints stand as a cornerstone of late 19th-century graphic art, showcasing the artist’s mastery of the medium. The complete Elles series is classified as one of Toulouse-Lautrec's most significant graphic achievements, and this impression of Waking Up resides in the esteemed collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.