Woman pulling up her stockings

In an almost classical pose, reminiscent of a model, Lautrec captures the graceful silhouette of a woman adjusting her stockings. Having gained access to the private world of brothel girls, he was able to capture their every gesture on the spot, or reproduce them in his studio.

The snapshot of a familiar and extremely feminine gesture is vividly captured here with a stroke of paint in violet essence, with touches of blue color to emphasize the outline of the legs with a stronger line.

This way of working with the tip of a supple and precise brush on cardboard, which provides him with a background tone, constitutes one of the characteristics of Lautrec's complete freedom of execution: unconcerned with even the brief evocation of a setting, he captures this figure in which his love of the female form is expressed, without any hint of eroticism or pornography. The legs are cut off at mid-calf, the arms suggested with an unfinished line, the left hand pulling up the stocking barely sketched, the modeling only minimally rendered by white highlights applied in long diagonal strokes. The dark green of the stockings contrasts with the soft green of the chemise wrapped around the neck, and the vibrant red of the blond hair.

The depiction of this everyday gesture reveals the painter's attentive and not entirely tender gaze towards prostitutes. With great economy of means, which further highlights the skill of his brush, Lautrec asserts his complete lack of moralizing judgment.