Jane Avril in the Entrance to the Moulin Rouge, putting on her Gloves

Painted in 1892 and now at the Courtauld Gallery in London, this intimate scene of Jane Avril in the entrance to the Moulin Rouge, putting on her gloves, captures the performer in a transitional, private moment rather than on stage. Jane Avril — the neurotic, brilliant dancer who had cured herself of hysteria through dance — was one of Lautrec's most important subjects and a genuine friend. This work shows her in the liminal space of the entrance, gloves in hand, caught between the public world of the dance hall and her private self. The Courtauld, which holds Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergère, is an appropriate home for this study in Parisian theatrical life.

The composition captures the transitional gesture of glove-dressing — the hands engaged in the careful act of putting on formal gloves — while the face registers the particular inner state of someone moving between private and public persona. The thin paint technique renders the rich fabrics and the entrance's spatial depth with economical directness.