Little is known about this plucky woman wearing a dramatic, wide-shouldered dress. The inscription at upper right dedicates the portrait to the Nys family, and the sitter has historically been identified as Mademoiselle Nys. She may be one of the many acquaintances who posed for Lautrec; at around the time he made this work, friends also tried to help the artist secure important portrait commissions, but society women soon fled in dismay from their sittings, after suffering insult.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Mademoiselle Nys
Artist:Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, Albi 1864–1901 Saint-André-du-Bois)
Date:1899
Medium:Oil on unprimed wood
Dimensions:10 5/8 x 8 5/8 in. (27 x 21.9 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:The Lesley and Emma Sheafer Collection, Bequest of Emma A. Sheafer, 1973
Object Number:1974.356.36
Inscription: Signed, dated, and inscribed (upper right): à la famille / Nys (to the Nys family) / HTLautrec [HTL in monogram] / 1899.
[Jos Hessel, Paris]; Sacha Guitry, Paris (by 1931–at least 1939); [A. & R. Ball, New York, until 1948; sold May 14, 1948 for $7,000 to Sheafer]; Lesley and Emma Sheafer, New York (1948–his d. 1956); Emma A. Sheafer, New York (1956–d. 1973)
Paris. Galerie Paul Rosenberg. "Exposition d'œuvres de Toulouse-Lautrec," January 20–February 3, 1914, no. 25 (as "Mlle Tys" [sic]).
Paris. Galerie Manzi, Joyant. "Exposition rétrospective de l'œuvre de H. de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901)," June 15–July 11, 1914, no. 100 (as "Tête de femme [Mademoiselle Nys, 1899]").
Paris. Musée des Arts Décoratifs. "Exposition H. de Toulouse-Lautrec," April 9–May 17, 1931, no. 175 (lent by Sacha Guitry).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Toulouse-Lautrec in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," July 2–September 29, 1996, unnumbered cat. (fig. 30).
Denver Art Museum. "Toulouse-Lautrec from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," July 15–October 15, 1999, no catalogue.
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon. "Jacqueline Delubac, le choix de la modernité. Rodin, Lam, Picasso, Bacon," November 7, 2014–February 16, 2015, no. 110.
Maurice Joyant. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1864–1901. Vol. 1, Peintre. Paris, 1926, p. 298, ill. p. 229.
Emile Schaub-Koch. Psychanalyse d'un peintre moderne: Henri de Toulouse Lautrec. Paris, 1935, p. 212.
Jacques Lassaigne. Toulouse-Lautrec. London, 1939, p. 167, no. 157, ill. p. 157, locates it in the Sacha Guitry collection.
Jacques Lassaigne. Lautrec. Geneva, 1953, p. 106.
M. G. Dortu. Toulouse-Lautrec et son œuvre. New York, 1971, vol. 1, p. 129, ill. p. 59 (installation photograph of Exh. Paris 1914); vol. 3, pp. 416–17, no. P.680, ill., lists Sacha Guitry in the provenance and locates it in a private collection.
G. M. Sugana inThe Complete Paintings of Toulouse-Lautrec. London, 1973, p. 118, no. 496, ill., places it in the Sacha Guitry collection, Paris.
Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 505, ill.
Colta Ives. Toulouse-Lautrec in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1996, pp. 30, 61, fig. 30, refers to this painting as an illustration of Lautrec's interest in expressive facial features rather than the model's clothing or surroundings.
Jacqueline Delubac, le choix de la modernité. Rodin, Lam, Picasso, Bacon. Ed. Salima Hellal. Exh. cat., Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon. Arles, 2014, pp. 207, 219, no. 110, ill. p. 220 (color).
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, Albi 1864–1901 Saint-André-du-Bois)
1894
Resources for Research
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
