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Towards the end of 1892 Lautrec was commissioned to produce decorations for the salon walls of the Rue d'Amboise brothel, and he decided to design 16 panels in the style of Louis XV, each one centring on an oval portraits of one of the girls. It was during this time that Lautrec had the opportunity to study their lifestyle at close quarters.
He was fascinated to discover that many of them were deeply in love with each other, and he frequently made these couples the subjects of his paintings. He thereby succeeded in portraying the genuine depth of these lesbian relationships without exposing the girls' tenderness and helplessness to voyeurism.
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