Man and Woman Riding through the Woods 1901

Toulouse-Lautrec painted this scene of a Man and Woman Riding through the Woods with oil on canvas, but we don't know when. Look at the way he layers the paint, thin in some areas, thicker in others, like he's building up the scene in stages, letting the underlayers peek through, you can sense him figuring out the composition as he goes. There's a sketchiness to it, an immediacy, like he's trying to capture a fleeting moment. See how he's used these strokes to define the horses' muscles, the folds of the riders' clothing? And the colours, these earthy reds and greens, they create a sense of depth and atmosphere. It reminds me a little of Degas. Both had a knack for capturing everyday scenes, but where Degas' work is often more polished, Lautrec's has this raw, almost unfinished quality. I like how he embraces the messiness of the medium, you get the sense that he's not afraid to let the paint do its thing, he's using it to convey a feeling, a mood. Ultimately, it's up to us to complete the story.