Your Mouth (Ta bouche)

"Your Mouth (Ta bouche)" is a significant print created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1893. This intimate and focused study was executed as a lithograph in olive green on delicate China paper, showcasing the artist’s characteristic mastery of the reproductive arts during his most productive decade. As a quintessential example of French graphic output produced during the prolific period spanning 1876 to 1900, the work reflects the changing relationship between fine art and commercial printing that characterized the late nineteenth century.

The technical precision inherent in the lithographic medium allowed Toulouse-Lautrec to explore portraiture with characteristic simplicity and dramatic, cropped framing. He frequently focused on capturing the fleeting moments and intense, sometimes ambiguous, personalities of the bohemian nightlife of Paris, bypassing idealized classical forms in favor of raw psychological intensity. Although the specific sitter of Your Mouth (Ta bouche) is not definitively identified, the highly concentrated composition emphasizes the sensual and slightly anxious expression around the mouth and chin, a common feature in the artist's deeply psychological studies of performers and socialites. This limited palette, dominated by the subtle olive green ink, enhances the work's moodiness and immediacy.

This outstanding example of fin-de-siècle graphic production resides in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art. The piece’s enduring appeal lies in its efficient use of line and restricted tone, which profoundly influenced subsequent generations of printmakers and commercial artists. Due to its age and cultural significance, high-resolution images of this work are often available among collections designated as part of the public domain, making these iconic Toulouse-Lautrec prints widely accessible for scholarly research and artistic appreciation worldwide.