Those Women

Toulouse-Lautrec's Elles and French Images of Prostitution

February 13–April 23, 2000

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Elles: Woman in Bed, Seen in Profile -- The Awakening

1896
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute

Originally published in 1896, the Elles series of lithographs by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec depict scenes from the private life of prostitutes and "kept women." All twelve lithographs from the series were on view, as were other images of prostitution by French artists from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century. Prints by Edgar Degas, drawings by Toulouse-Lautrec and Descamps, and a photograph by Atget were among the other works to be drawn from the Clark’s extensive collection of prints, drawings, and photographs.