Description
A sharply outlined bearded man faces a bonneted woman in Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s Why Not? Once Is Not to Make a Habit of It. The neighboring busts give the words an immediate human setting. The title suggests an exchange whose larger story remains open, allowing a small confrontation of faces to carry humor or ambiguity without a complete narrative being supplied.
Made in 1893, the lithograph combines crayon, brush and spatter and is printed in olive green on wove paper. Published in L’Escarmouche and reproduced in its November 12 issue, the work connects the artist’s invention to contemporary illustrated life. Its interest lies in the relationship between an image and the words that frame it. A brief utterance gives a represented moment another register, allowing humor or ambiguity to coexist with the immediate presence of its figures.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec collection.





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