May Milton

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's "May Milton" (1895) is an oil and pastel on cardboard portrait of the English dancer May Milton, who performed in Paris in the 1890s. Milton was a popular figure in Montmartre, and Lautrec captured her in several works, most famously in the poster "May Milton" (1895) advertising her appearance at the Moulin Rouge. This portrait in oil and pastel on cardboard captures her distinctive features with Lautrec's characteristic directness. The combination of oil and pastel creates a rich surface, with the oil providing depth and the pastel adding a soft, powdery quality. The cardboard support was a favorite of Lautrec's, its absorbent surface allowing for rapid, spontaneous execution. The palette is likely dominated by the warm tones of Milton's hair and skin, set against a darker or more neutral background. This portrait belongs to the period when Lautrec was at the height of his fame as a poster artist and portraitist of the Parisian entertainment world, and it captures the vitality and character of one of the period's most popular performers.

Lautrec's portraits of performers like May Milton are among the most iconic images of fin-de-siècle Paris, capturing the personalities who made Montmartre the entertainment capital of the world.

This oil and pastel portrait of May Milton captures the vitality and character of the English dancer, the mixed media technique creating a rich surface that matches the energy of its subject.