Portrait of Toulouse Lautrec, in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, with the Natansons

Portrait of Toulouse-Lautrec in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne with the Natansons records a summer gathering at the Natanson property in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, where Thadée and Misia regularly hosted members of the Revue Blanche circle. Toulouse-Lautrec was a frequent guest despite his deteriorating health; his relationship with the Natanson circle was one of the important social bonds of his late career. This canvas captures him within the informal, collegial world of a country house party of Parisian intellectuals and artists — a historically valuable document of the social network that sustained Post-Impressionist culture.

The informal garden or house setting provides a relaxed compositional framework. Lautrec's distinctive figure — short, broad-shouldered — is observed without the caricature or pathos that sometimes marks portrayals of him. Vuillard's treatment is affectionate and direct, the background loosely handled.