Rhetorical Situation

This is a piece done by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. I chose this artwork first, because I love things that are black and white figuratively and literally. And secondly, it draws my attention and gives me questions that cannot be answered. It is done in pencil which is interesting to me because he uses shading and fading to capture the image in a most unique way. He emphasizes on her face and the veil in the back, but not the front. He allows the veil to fade out so the viewers may see the woman's face and also fades toward the bottom of the piece, putting less emphasis on her body. Obviously the artist found the woman appealing and portrayed her that way in the painting while leaving it somewhat of a mystery.  The woman appears to be looking into the distance and she has a smirk on her face; however, the audience does not have the ability to know what is making her smile. I believe that he knew the woman and he portrayed her in a very attractive manner. He made her look very dainty and sophisticated while keeping her appealing and classy to all types of viewers. No one would look at this piece and assume the woman was lower class and would even go as far as assuming she lived a very fair, maybe even wealthy lifestyle. artist may have painted this to catch this woman in the essence of the moment, but I do not see a specific reason why (other than personal) that he would have wanted to create this piece.