Artwork
In the Skating Professional Beauty
In the Skating Professional Beauty is a print by the Impressionist artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. It dates from 1895 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Created in 1895, this print by Henri de Toulouse‑Lautrec depicts a woman gliding on ice, her long skirt and hat billowing as she moves.
About this work
The painting shows a woman ice skating.
She's dressed in a long skirt and hat.
The image is from 1895, and it's interesting because it was made using a photomechanical process, which was a new technique at the time, allowing for mass production of images.
You can learn more about this type of art by looking at the work of artist: Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri de.
Overview
Created in 1895, this print by Henri de Toulouse‑Lautrec depicts a woman gliding on ice, her long skirt and hat billowing as she moves. Executed through a photomechanical process, the work exemplifies the artist’s interest in contemporary leisure activities and the visual culture of late‑19th‑century Paris.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure is a professional ice‑skater, a type of entertainer frequently featured in Toulouse‑Lautrec’s oeuvre. By focusing on a performer rather than a patron, the image highlights the public spectacle of recreation and the emerging popularity of skating as a fashionable pastime.
Technique & Style
The print was produced using a photomechanical method, a relatively new technology in the 1890s that allowed artists to reproduce images with fine detail and distribute them widely. Toulouse‑Lautrec’s handling of line and contrast preserves the immediacy of a photographic source while retaining his characteristic graphic sensibility.
History & Provenance
Henri de Toulouse‑Lautrec (1864‑1901), born into an aristocratic French family, turned to documenting Parisian nightlife after a childhood injury left him physically shortened. This work forms part of his broader series of prints that record the city’s theatrical and leisure scenes, reflecting his personal connection to the world of performance.
Context
During the 1890s, Paris saw a surge in public ice‑skating venues, and performers on the rink became symbols of modern urban entertainment. Toulouse‑Lautrec’s choice of this subject aligns with his broader fascination with the city's vibrant, often decadent, social life, captured through emerging print technologies.
Artist & collection
Artist
Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Montfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901), known as Toulouse-Lautrec (French: ), was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist, and illustrator.
