Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (24 November 1864-1901) moved to Paris in 1882 and was instantly drawn to the city’s demi-monde — the entertainers and sex workers of Montmartre; the cafes, concerts and circuses; and the racetrack. He found his subjects in the fleeting crowds and urban spectacle of Paris.
Already passionately fond of drawing, Toulouse-Lautrec was an astute observer of life and a talented drafter. His career coincided with the emergence of modern printmaking and poster production, as well as the emergence of Parisian nightlife and entertainment when the young provincial aristocrat launched himself into the bohemian world of Montmartre.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ‘Tete de fille (Head of a girl)’ 1892

In a brief and brilliant career of just over a decade, he produced some of the best-known images of Paris and its nightlife in the form of lithographic posters and prints, inspired by the formal elements of traditional Japanese print-making: flat colour surfaces; asymmetrical, cropped compositions; and pronounced outlines.
Working en plein air in the manner of the Impressionists, the artist was drawn to the people on the fringes of so-called respectable society. Toulouse-Lautrec rejected the conventional cliché of fallen women, he frequented the brothels and clubs, befriended the women who worked there, and produced a sensitive and profoundly human portrait of their world in a series of lithographs known as ‘Elles’. This oval portrait Tete de fille (Head of a girl) 1892 (illustrated) is one of fifteen the artist made of women who worked at a brothel on the Rue Amboise.
Prostitution was a way of life in the ninetheenth century and like Toulouse-Lautrec, the theme was utilised by a number of artists including Edgar Degas (19 July 1834–1917). Toulouse-Lautrec regularly took up residence in brothels, he commented: ‘Brothel. Well, what of it? Nowhere else do I feel more at home…’.
Tete de fille (Head of a girl) is on display within the Queensland Art Gallery’s International Art Collection, Philip Bacon Galleries (7-9).