LONDON — Christie’s will present Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s La Femme Tatouée (1894) at its upcoming 20th- and 21st-century evening sale next month. The painting, which portrays a tattooed courtesan preparing for a client, is inspired by Japanese ukiyo-e brothel scenes. Estimated to fetch between £2.5 million and £3.5 million (approximately $3.3 million to $4.6 million), the artwork has been held in a private family collection since 1922.
Toulouse-Lautrec, known for his frequent visits to Paris’s regulated brothels, captured the lives of sex workers with remarkable sensitivity. His depictions, created during the last decade of the 19th century, include around 70 paintings of the theme, often rendered with diluted oil paints on cardboard. Notable works in this genre, such as The Sofa (1894–96) and Woman Before a Mirror (1897), are part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection in New York.
Michelle McMullan, head of Christie’s evening sale for Impressionist and Modern art, noted that Toulouse-Lautrec’s bordello paintings are rarely available for purchase, as many are held in institutional collections. La Femme Tatouée is distinctive for its portrayal of a quiet moment between two women assisting each other with dressing, contrasting with other works in the series that focus on solitary subjects.
“This painting tells a story that highlights the genuine experiences of these women,” McMullan remarked. She emphasized that including this work in a sale alongside contemporary pieces is particularly significant because Toulouse-Lautrec “was ahead of his time in capturing the individuality and inner lives of women in his art.”
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