1893
chalk
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Fashionable People at Les Ambassadeurs (Aux Ambassadeurs: Gens Chic) is a 1893 chalk by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This painting shows three people sitting at a café table. The woman on the left wears a light green dress and a big hat with feathers. The man in the middle has a white flower in his lapel and holds a spoon over a bowl. The woman on the right sits sideways, wearing a dark dress and a hat. The brushstrokes are quick and rough, with lots of color mixing right on the paper. This style makes the scene feel lively but a little sketchy. Next, check out technique: impasto to see how artists build up thick paint like this.
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.
See the richer artist page
