Divan Japonais

I'm sorry, I tried. 

               Henri de Toulouse was born in France in 1864. Right before he was born the country and Europe itself went through a monumental change. Napoleon, the King of France, was defeated in 1848 and France moved away from a monarchy and towards a republic. Up until the fall of Napoleon France was experiencing its Second Empire.  He was born when France had become a rough Republic. This atmosphere lead to a lot of art being created to allow people to just appreciate art. That is what Henri ended up doing with this piece. 

           The piece is Divan Japonais  by Henri de Toulouse - Lautrec.  The exact date this piece was made is unknown. The years that it could have been made are 1892 or 1893. The medium or materials used in this painting are Lithograph printed in four colors, and woven paper.  The painting is medium in size. It is not done on a small canvas nor on one where you need a ladder to finish all parts of it. The exact measurements of this painting are 31 - 13/16 x 23 - 15/16 in.

Source 

          The painting was made in France and was to help promote a club. Henri loved the club/bar Divan Japonais. With all the turmoil France just came out of  and that they were still dealing with he wanted to help promote something that everyone would love and could enjoy. The was not just for the rich or the poor it could be used by all. The picture is meant to represent a new time where people are not so separate. Behind the woman a man is holding onto her chair to represent that they are connected. The painting is also more abstract which I find extremely interestingly.

              It is abstract to the extent that the shapes are not distinctly defined but they can be noticed. We know that there is a woman and a man. However, the bar knobs look like hands and that they have an opinion of  their own. They can be noticed but you have to take a second look to really see.

             The colors that Henri uses are extremely neutral. He uses beige's, yellows, whites, and tans, to make the people stand out. The woman is in a completely black outfit with red hair which makes the man fade into the background. She is highlighted as the focal point, and shown that she is new to the scene and may not typically come to bars. But now that she is here, she out shadows everyone there. In conclusion I believe that the painting is meant to represent a new era in France that everyone can now be apart of.