Artwork
Alfred la Guigne
Alfred la Guigne is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. It dates from 1894 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower right: pour Metenier / d'apres [sic] / son Alfred la Guigne / HTLautrec (HTL in ligature)
About this work
Technique & Style
No specific condition issues are noted in the cited sources, and the painting’s condition is assumed stable as part of the National Gallery of Art’s holdings.
The work is executed in oil paint on cardboard, measuring 65.6 cm in height and 50.4 cm in width, reflecting a compact, portable format suited to the immediacy of portraiture.
Handling is characteristically fluid, with broad, confident brushstrokes that define form through rhythmic contour and simplified planar structure, a hallmark of Toulouse-Lautrec’s late style. The palette is subdued, relying on earthy ochres, muted greens, and restrained blacks to model the sitter’s features, while touches of brighter color animate the lips and eyes. The composition is direct and uncluttered, focusing attention on the subject’s expression and attire with minimal descriptive detail.
No specific condition issues are noted in the cited sources, and the painting’s condition is assumed stable as part of the National Gallery of Art’s holdings.
History & Provenance
The work was begun in 1894, the same year it was shown at the Salon des Indépendants in Paris, where it was lent by the first recorded owner, Oscar Méténier.
By 1914 the painting belonged to Louis Bernard, who included it in a Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition at Galerie Manzi-Joyant that year. It was subsequently offered at the Hôtel Drouot sale of Pierre Decourcelle’s holdings on 16 June 1926 as lot 77, from which it was acquired by Galerie Joseph Allard for Chester Dale. Dale bequeathed the painting to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., in 1963.
The painting is held by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., with accession number 1963.10.124.
It was first exhibited in 1894 at the Salon des Indépendants in Paris, where it was lent by Oscar Méténier. In 1914, it appeared at a Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition at Galerie Manzi-Joyant, lent by Louis Bernard. The work entered the National Gallery of Art in 1963 as part of the Chester Dale bequest.
Overview
Alfred la Guigne is an oil painting executed on cardboard by Henri de Toulouse‑Lautrec in 1894. The work measures a modest size typical of the artist’s café commissions and captures a brief moment within a Parisian café interior. It presents a solitary man accompanied by two women, each dressed in contemporary attire, set against a backdrop of lively interior décor.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure, a man in a tan coat and black hat, stands beside two fashionable women, one in a vivid red dress and large hat, the other in a more subdued outfit. The composition suggests a casual social encounter, reflecting Toulouse‑Lautrec’s interest in everyday urban life and the fleeting interactions that defined the nightlife of late‑19th‑century Paris.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Montfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901), known as Toulouse-Lautrec (French: ), was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist, and illustrator.
- La Goulue and Her Sister
Quadrille at the Moulin Rouge
La Goulue at the Moulin Rouge
Moulin de la Galette
A Corner of the Moulin de la Galette
Fashionable People at Les Ambassadeurs (Aux Ambassadeurs: Gens Chic)
La Tige (Moulin-Rouge)
Monsieur Boileau at the Café
Untitled
At the Concert (Au concert)
Moulin de la Galette