Collapsed on the Bed, from the series Elles
Medium
Crayon lithograph printed in two colors on wove paper
Dimensions
sheet: 15 13/16 x 20 1/2 in. (40.2 x 52 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949
Accession Number
49.55.59
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
In Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's *Collapsed on the Bed*, from poignant 1896 series *Elles*, a weary woman slumps across rumpled sheets, capturing the raw intimacy of Parisian brothel life during the Belle Époque.-Lautrec, a Post-Impressionist master famed for his unflinching portrayals ofmartre's nightlife, elevates these scenes beyond sensationalism, humanizing the women he called "Elles" (French for "them" or "those women"). This crayon lithograph, printed in subtle two-color tones on wove paper, exemplifies his innovative printmaking, where bold, gestural lines drawn directly on lithographic stone convey exhaustion and quiet dignity. The *Elles* series, comprising 11 lithographs, marked a departure from Toulouse-Lautrec's vibrant posters, offering somber, monochromatic vignettes that critiqued the glamour of fin-de-siècle Paris. Produced in collaboration with printer Gustave Pellet, these affordable editions democratized art, reaching beyond elite salons. Measuring 15 13/16 x 20 1/2 inches, this sheet's intimate scale draws viewers into the subject's vulnerability, a hallmark of Toulouse-Lautrec's empathetic gaze amid his own physical struggles with health. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Alfred Stieglitz Collection, *Collapsed on the Bed* endures as a cultural touchstone, reminding us of the era's hidden labor and the artist's revolutionary empathy for society's margins.
About the Artist
Gustave Pellet|Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French|French) · 1859 |1864 –1919 |1901
French, Paris 1859–1919 Paris|French, Albi 1864–1901 Saint-André-du-Bois