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Shown from the waist up, a woman with light, peachy-yellow skin sits with her body facing us as she looks over her shoulder to our right in this loosely painted, vertical portrait. Her face is in profile and her carnation-pink and tangerine-orange hair is pulled into a bun at the base of her head. Fluffy bangs are parted over her forehead and obscure her eyes. Her snub nose is reddened, and her pink lips are pursed. She wears a long sleeved, tight fitting, black blouse with bright orange trim along one side of the shallow, V-shaped neckline. Her hands rest in her lap, one in front of the other. The hand and forearm we can see is nickel gray. The light shines from our right, casting the back of her head into shadow. The background is honey orange and plum purple, with forms suggesting forest-green leaves. The left and right edges of the painting are bordered in coffee-brown paint brushed or scraped over pecan-brown paint. Brushstrokes are visible throughout.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Carmen Gaudin, 1885

Not on View

Medium

oil on wood

Dimensions

overall: 23.8 x 14.9 cm (9 3/8 x 5 7/8 in.)

framed: 43.7 x 37.2 x 10.2 cm (17 3/16 x 14 5/8 x 4 in.)

Credit Line

Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection

Accession Number

1970.17.85

Artists / Makers

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (artist) French, 1864 - 1901

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .

Provenance

François Gauzi [1862-1933], Toulouse; his estate, at least until 1935.[1] (Durand-Matthiesen, Geneva, by 1951).[2] Capt. Edward H. Molyneux [1891-1974], Paris, by 1952;[3] sold 1955 to Ailsa Mellon Bruce [1901-1969], New York; bequest 1970 to NGA.

[1]Letter formerly on back of painting signed by Germaine Gauzi, dated 1935.

[2]Label formerly on back of painting from the 1951 Matthiesen, London, exhibition gives Durand-Matthieson as owners.

[3]Exhibited as part of Molyneux collection in 1952.

Associated Names

Bruce, Ailsa Mellon, Mrs.
Gauzi, François
Molyneux, Edward H., Captain
The Matthiesen Gallery

Exhibition History

1951: Toulouse-Lautrec, Matthiesen Gallery, London, 1951, no. 4.

1952: French Paintings from the Molyneux Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1952, unnumbered checklist.

1956: Hampton National Historic Site, Towson, MD, May - October 1956.

1961: French Paintings of the Nineteenth Century from the Collection of Mrs. Mellon Bruce, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 1961, no. 61, repro

1966: French Paintings from the Collections of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon and Mrs. Mellon Bruce, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1966, no. 148, repro

1999: Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art; Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, 1999, no. 62, repro.

2003: Toulouse-Lautrec: Uno sguardo dentro la vita, Complesso del Vittoriano, Rome, 2003-2004, no. I.5, repro.

2011: Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; The National Art Center, Tokyo; Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, 2011, no. 50, repro.

2012: Toulouse-Lautrec: Paris & the Moulin Rouge, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2012-2013, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

2013: Intimate Impressionism from the National Gallery of Art, Museo dell'Ara Pacis Augustae, Rome (exhibition title in this venue: Impressionist Gems); California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco; McNay Art Museum, San Antonio; Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, Tokyo, Seattle Art Museum, 2013-2016.

2019: Toulouse-Lautrec: Resolutely Modern, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, 2019-2020.

Bibliography

1971: Dortu, M.G. Toulouse-Lautrec et son oeuvre. 6 vols. New York, 1971:II:P244, repro.

1975: European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 352, repro.

1978: Small French Paintings from the Bequest of Ailsa Mellon Bruce. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978: 82, repro. (continuing exhibition beginning in 1978).

1984: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 529, no. 796, color repro.

1985: European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 402, repro.