Woman with a Tub, plate four from Elles

"Woman with a Tub, plate four from Elles," created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1896, is a cornerstone of the celebrated portfolio detailing the intimate lives of Parisian sex workers. This striking color lithograph on ivory wove paper exemplifies the technical mastery achieved by the collaboration between the artist, publisher Gustave Pellet, and master printer Auguste Clot. The use of the demanding color lithography technique allowed Toulouse-Lautrec to capture subtle shifts in light and volume through expertly layered inks, moving beyond simple commercial illustration into serious fine art prints.

The Elles series represented a profound departure from contemporary norms, observing the women in moments of quiet domesticity and repose rather than public spectacle. Toulouse-Lautrec, known for his empathetic documentation of urban life in France, focused here on an intensely private act of ablution. The composition of Woman with a Tub utilizes flattened forms and simplified color areas, stylistic choices drawn directly from the influence of Japanese woodblock prints, creating a powerful sense of immediacy and objective observation.

Toulouse-Lautrec’s dedication to this medium during the 1890s cemented his legacy as a master of the graphic arts. This print provides critical documentation of both the social environment of late 19th-century Paris and the innovative possibilities of the lithographic process in French culture. As an important historical work, this impression resides in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.