Artwork

Femme à sa toilette avec sa femme de chambre (2e planche en largeur) (Woman at Her Toilette with Her Maid) (second horizontal plate)

Femme à sa toilette avec sa femme de chambre (2e planche en largeur) (Woman at Her Toilette with Her Maid) (second horizontal plate), by Jean-Louis Forain, ink, 1895
Femme à sa toilette avec sa femme de chambre (2e planche en largeur) (Woman at Her Toilette with Her Maid) (second horizontal plate), by Jean-Louis Forain, ink, 1895

Femme à sa toilette avec sa femme de chambre (2e planche en largeur) (Woman at Her Toilette with Her Maid) (second horizontal plate) is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Jean-Louis Forain. It dates from 1895 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Jean-Louis Forain's 'Femme à sa toilette avec sa femme de chambre' is a lithograph created around 1895. The print is executed in red on wove Arches vellum paper.

Subject & Meaning

The lithograph depicts an intimate scene of a woman at her dressing table, attended by a maid. The woman is brushing her hair, while the maid stands behind, holding a fan, in a simply furnished room with a window and a chair.

Technique & Style

The print is characterized by loose, quick lines, achieved through lithography, a technique that allows for expressive drawings. The use of red crayon on light paper gives the work a warm, sketchy feel, typical of late 19th-century artistic practices.

Artist & collection

Portrait of Jean-Louis Forain

Artist

Jean-Louis Forain

Jean-Louis Forain (French pronunciation: ; 23 October 1852 – 11 July 1931) was a French Impressionist painter and printmaker, working in media including oils, watercolour, pastel, etching and lithograph.

This work is in the public domain (CC0). Image source: National Gallery of Art open access. Spotted an error in this record? Tell us.