"Private Room in the "Le rat mort"

This painting was made after Lautrec spent some time in a sanatorium to cure a complete mental breakdown and alcohol poisoning. He subsequently recuperated in the provinces, where he recovered rapidly and even abstained for a while. But as soon as he returned to Paris and met his old drinking companions, he began to drink once more.

The woman represented in the painting is Lucy Jourdan, a well-known figure in the demi-monde, taking an intimate supper with a companion in the fashionable Rat Mort restaurant, Rue Pigalle. It is said that the painting was commissioned by her lover, who is perhaps the person next to her.