Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864 – 1901) had an enduring fascination with horses and racing, and in 1899 he was commissioned to produce a portfolio of lithographs on the theme. He never finished the portfolio due to poor health, and this work is one of the last he made.
Fused into a single being, the jockey and his racehorse gallop along the racetrack in a display of remarkable dynamism. Sophisticated tonal effects show his inventive approach, and the influence of Japanese prints is clear in the lithographs.