Lady with a Dog

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

National Gallery of Art

This painting shows a woman sitting upright in a yellow-and-tan reclining chair, her body turned to the right, her face turned toward us. Her skin is pale, with shades of pale yellow and light pink, and shadows in a pale green shade. She has deep-set brown eyes, arched eyebrows, and a small pink mouth set in a neutral expression. Her curling hair is light purple and put in an updo. She is wearing a white and lilac polka-dot blouse with puffy sleeves, complemented by a long skirt with stripes of black, gray, and green. In her lap, she holds a small black, tan, and light-green dog, cradling it gently with both hands. The background features a grassy area enclosed by a wooden fence painted with lines of green, teal, and dark red, with a large, slightly bent tree trunk visible to the left. The sky above has a cloudy appearance made by crisscrossing lines of white, purple, pink, and green. The brushstrokes in the painting are thick and visible, especially those in the background. In some places, like the fence, the tree trunk, and the back of the chair, the light brown surface under the paint is visible.