The Sentimental Walk Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Buy Art Prints Now
from Amazon

* As an Amazon Associate, and partner with Google Adsense and Ezoic, I earn from qualifying purchases.


by
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on October 14, 2023
Email: [email protected] / Phone: +44 7429 011000

La promenade sentimentale, The Sentimental Walk, is a Henri Toulouse-Lautrec drawing which features two main figures within a fairly simple study piece. The item recently came up for sale at auction, but went unsold.

This piece commanded the considerable valuation of 30,000 - 40,000 EUR, which is somewhat higher than the norm for this artist's drawings. It was featured in an important catalogue raisonne of the artist's career from the early 1970s, and it also carried the seal mark which confirmed its authenticity. The artist uses light touches of pencil for the two portraits, thn darkening elements which he felt contented with. The main purpose of this artwork may have been to focus on the lines of the body for these two individuals, plus the clothing which hangs from their bodies. Both have their backs to us, but just angle their faces into a side profile. The item is listed as being 31,5 x 20 cm in size, not including the accompanying frame, and is loosely dated at around 1895. By this point the artist was working hard in Paris and enjoying the exciting nightlife of this vibrant city.

Toulouse-Lautrec became heavily involved in the social scene of Montmartre, both enjoying the activities available, but also using these environments to inspire a number of artworks. Cabaret and theatre performers littered a decade of his work, before he then worked on advertisements posters which displayed his handling of illustration. These were collected at a later date and now command strong values, because of their connection to the most famous part of his career. He would build relationships with some of the performers, too, and they would then start to appear in portraits, both whilst working and also in more personal situations. At the Moulin Rouge and Moulin Rouge: La Goulue would perhaps become his most famous creations of all, though there were many other notable designs from the 1890s.

Most of the drawings from this artist's career that we are aware of were included within a catalogue raisonne from the 1970s, and any inclusion within that should help to boost the valuation of any artwork. Some have appeared since but most items that come up for auction these days tend to be copies of lithographs created during the artist's lifetime to promote various events and businesses. As his reputation for this sideline grew, so other entities would come forward to require his services, including novelists looking to promote their latest books. He was popular in this regard and his contemporary approach suited certain products and industries particularly well. A Sentimental Walk was intended as a study for a later piece, and as a means to developing his skills of portraiture.