The Hairdresser, Program for the Théâtre Libre

Just as Japanese printmakers studied the lives of women in the Yoshiwara licensed pleasure quarters, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec represented contemporary women in Parisian theaters, cafes, and brothels. The black outlines and flat colors in this work may have been inspired by Toulouse­Lautrec's own collection of Japanese prints. Since color lithography requires separate stone blocks for each color, Toulouse-Lautrec was able to parallel the effects achieved in the Japanese woodcut technique. He was also fond of the red seals visible on many Japanese prints, and eventually developed his own circular signature in a similar style.