Late 19^th century Paris made it seem like all things wild and crazy were happening every night of the week, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s Woman Before a Mirror doesn’t dispel this idea.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec may have been short, but he was a giant on the Parisian nightlife scene in the 1890s. Woman Before a Mirror is just one of many artworks spawned from this time in Toulouse-Lautrec’s life as a real party animal. The man was a real superstar, mingling with everyone, from the degenerates on the streets to the gentlemen diving into the gritty deep end of Paris, and even the prostitutes working in the Montmartre area. Toulouse-Lautrec made sure he was in the good books with pretty much anyone who considered themselves an outcast from proper French society and could find comfort in this bawdy nightspot that was Montmarte. 

Toulouse-Lautrec’s subject in Woman Before a Mirror is a prostitute examining her nude reflection before her next client enters her room. There’s nothing glamorous about this moment. This brief moment of respite before the next fella comes in shows us the boring, tedious lives the prostitutes lived. French society would have been shocked and deeply appalled by the depiction of a prostitute, especially those in the art world. But Toulouse-Lautrec was hardly one to care. His appreciation for these prostitutes surpassed social scorn.

Toulouse-Lautrec frequented the brothels so often that he would bring his buddies along for the night. In these houses where money talks, the young lads would be entertained by the women deep into the night. Toulouse-Lautrec even stayed in brothels for several days, nursing several hangovers. He would treat the place like his own apartment, inviting friends over to have a drink, have a laugh. My house is your house, apparently. One wonders if the women minded. But I suppose Toulouse-Lautrec found comfort with the prostitutes so there was no kicking him out. These brothels weren’t just there for Toulouse-Lautrec to have a good time. He was a working man, after all. He was equally hard at work as he was at having a good time, and he painted the residents when they were off duty. Woman Before a Mirror is but a small glimpse into an off duty moment.