Study of a Woman (Etude de femme)

Executed as a lithograph, the image relies on the artist’s manipulation of a stone surface to achieve soft tonal variations in the olive hue. The limited color range and simplified background emphasize line and mass, characteristic of Toulouse‑Lautrec’s late‑19th‑century printmaking, where economy of means heightens the figure’s presence.

Created during a prolific period when the French painter was deeply involved in Paris’s nightlife, the print reflects his broader interest in portraying individuals on society’s margins. While specific ownership records are scarce, the piece forms part of the artist’s extensive output of lithographic studies produced for both personal exploration and commercial publication.

The lithograph emerges from an era when Parisian artists increasingly turned to print media to capture fleeting moments and everyday subjects. Toulouse‑Lautrec’s aristocratic background and lifelong physical challenges informed his empathetic eye for marginalized figures, a perspective that informs even this quiet, solitary study.