Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864 – 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draftsman, and illustrator. The period he created his art was known as the Belle Époque and his focus was on the decadence in Parisian society. Of all the posters advertising a publication, LA REINE DE JOIE is surely one of the most delightful. The book, 'Queen of Pleasure,' deals with a girl of easy virtue, and Toulouse-Lautrec chooses to depict her doing what she does best, bestowing her questionable favors on a well-heeled heel. His oily satisfaction, her professional polish, and even the jaded nonchalance of the uninvolved gentlemen at their side combine to make a statement full of wit and irony, as well as profound insight.