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. This poster advertising confetti puts Toulouse-Lautrec's use of the 'spray' or 'splatter' technique to great effect. In a process pioneered by the artist himself, an ink-soaked brush would be held over the lithographic plate and rubbed against a grid, to produce a fine spray of droplets. The resulting effect could be one of great delicacy, used to add nuanced tones and subtle shading or, when applied with gusto, could create bolder and more dramatic results. For this technique Toulouse-Lautrec took inspiration from a decorative effect employed in Japanese lacquer: urushi or 'sprinkled' lacquer.