Following the success of his first poster Moulin Rouge: La Goulue, Lautrec was commissioned to design advertising for various venues, performers, and novels. This poster was created for Victor Joze’s erotic novel, Reine de joie: moeurs du demi-monde [Queen of pleasure: the mores of the demi-monde], about a young demi-mondaine who secures a regular allowance, jewellery and an apartment courtesy of a rich banker. Lautrec mockingly represents the couple – the beautiful young courtesan is set in stark contrast to her corpulent older lover.