The Milliner (La Modiste - Renée Vert)

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

National Gallery of Art

A woman placing a feathered hat on a display stand next to a printed but handwritten menu is printed shades of sage green on cream-colored paper in this vertical lithograph. The woman and menu are surrounded by a wide margin on all sides. The woman faces our left in profile. Her hair is pulled up and back. Her short jacket has sleeves puffed at the shoulders and tight along the arms. A skirt falls straight from her narrow waist. She stands on one side of a wide counter that holds two hat stands, and an oval-shaped hat box sits behind her feet. The woman’s body, features, clothing, and the objects around her are outlined with darker sage green. In the lower left corner, the menu reads as follows: “menu, Potages, St Germain Perles du Japon, Hors d’oeuvres, Radis Saucisson crevettes, Olives Buerre, Poisson, Fillets de Barbeu dieppoise legumes. Haricots verts maître d’hotel, petits pois bonne femme, Rots, Dindonneau au cresson, Salade, entremets Rocher de glace, Desserts assortis. Vins. Bordeaux. Champagne. Café. Cognac. On se mettra a table à 8 heures.” The bottom right corner of the printed image is stamped with a round, pale-green mark that combines the letters H, T, and L in a circle. A faint inscription in graphite in the lower left corner of the page is difficult to make out.