The artwork “The Streetwalker,” also known to some as “Casque d’Or,” is a creation by the prolific artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, circa 1890 – 1891. This portrait, executed in oil on cardboard, exemplifies the techniques of the Post-Impressionist movement and is currently housed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, PA, United States. It presents itself as a striking example of Toulouse-Lautrec’s preoccupation with the candid aspects of Parisian nightlife.
The artwork features a female subject, captured in a half-length portrait against a backdrop replete with lush, green foliage. Her countenance registers with contemplative softness, yet there is a glimmer of weary familiarity in her expression, perhaps speaking to the experiences of her profession intimated by the title “The Streetwalker.” Toulouse-Lautrec employs broad, fluid brushstrokes that infuse the portrait with a dynamic texture. The shading and contouring of the woman’s face and clothing give an impression of three-dimensionality against the flatter, more abstractly handled backdrop.
With a predominant palette of earth tones, accented by daubs of green and red, the woman’s auburn hair and the golden hue of her dress stand out, forging a palpable sense of her presence. Her attire is modest and unadorned, suggesting a certain plainness or conceivably an allusion to her socio-economic class. Characteristic of Toulouse-Lautrec’s style, the seemingly hasty application of paint conveys a sense of immediacy and a snapshot quality to the work, as if capturing a fleeting moment in the subject’s transient world. Indeed, it is this very portrayal of the human experience, without gloss or idealization, that lends this artwork its power and enduring intrigue.
