Three Women: Early Portraits by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec

This exhibition will bring together five paintings by Toulouse-Lautrec from the years 1886–89, anchored by The Hangover (Suzanne Valadon), from the Fogg’s Wertheim Collection. The three women portrayed in these paintings—Suzanne Valadon, Jeanne Wenz, and Carmen Gaudin—were all members of the artistic circles of the time. All five paintings depict their sitters in quiet, contemplative moments, rather than the highly theatrical or eroticized depictions of performers and prostitutes so well known in Toulouse-Lautrec’s oeuvre. These paintings represent an intersection of traditional portraiture, impressionist influence, and the avant-garde approach being developed by the young artist and his friends. This focused installation will encourage an examination of Toulouse-Lautrec’s innovative approach to portraiture and an investigation of the roles of women in the Paris art world of the 1880s.

Organized by Sarah B. Kianovsky, assistant curator of Paintings, Sculpture, and Decorative Arts, Fogg Art Museum.