Miss May Belfort au Irish American Bar, Rue Royale 1895

This lithograph by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec captures Miss May Belfort at the Irish American Bar in Paris. The composition, rendered in delicate lines, centres on Belfort, with the barest suggestion of other bar patrons to her right. The lack of colour emphasises form and line over substance, creating an immediate sense of lightness and ephemerality. Toulouse-Lautrec’s work often explored the spectacle of Parisian nightlife. Here, his sketch-like quality is not merely a stylistic choice but also a philosophical statement. The ephemeral lines can be interpreted through the lens of post-structuralism, where the absence of fixed forms reflects a broader cultural understanding of identity as fluid. By destabilising conventional representation through form, Toulouse-Lautrec underscores the constructed nature of performance and public persona. The sketch quality serves as a reminder of the transient nature of existence. It is in this tension between form and formlessness that Toulouse-Lautrec’s print finds its enduring power.