Skip to main content

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, The Two Friends

Key facts
Full title The Two Friends
Artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Artist dates 1864 - 1901
Date made 1894
Medium and support Oil on board
Dimensions 47.9 × 34 cm
Inscription summary Signed
Acquisition credit On loan from Tate: Bequeathed by Montague Shearman through the Contemporary Art Society 1940
Inventory number L731
Location Not on display
Image copyright On loan from Tate: Bequeathed by Montague Shearman through the Contemporary Art Society 1940, © 2000 Tate
Collection Main Collection
The Two Friends
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Throughout the 1890s Toulouse-Lautrec visited brothels in Paris and spent days observing the women there. A series of paintings on this theme culminated in 'Au Salon de la Rue des Moulins' of about 1894 (Albi, Musée Toulouse-Lautrec), which depicts the women sitting awaiting their clients.

This painting may represent an early stage in the genesis of the Albi picture, but it also belongs to a series of paintings focusing on the friendships between the women which often, as here, portrayed intimate moments or gestures of companionship or sympathy.

Why can't I download this image?

The National Gallery has endeavoured to make as many images of the collection as possible available for non-commercial use. However, an image of this painting is not available to download. This may be due to third party copyright restrictions.

If you require a license for commercial use of this image, please use the National Gallery Company's Online Picture Library or contact them using the following: