Portrait of Octave Raquin 1901

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec painted this portrait of Octave Raquin with oil on canvas. Lautrec has used a relatively traditional material, oil paint, but his application of it is quite unconventional. The visible brushwork is striking; it’s gestural and free. Look closely, and you can almost see the speed of the artist’s hand as he laid down each stroke. The quickness and confidence in Lautrec’s method is apparent, even if the sitter looks rather glum. The artist's approach to the oil painting is a crucial part of its meaning, as it expresses a modern sensibility: the focus is not on the accurate depiction, but on the subjective response of the artist. By emphasizing the sheer materiality of paint, Lautrec broke down conventional hierarchies of art making, prefiguring later developments in twentieth-century art.