Fernand Toussaint (1873–1956) was a Belgian artist best known for his highly elegant portraits of women. He was born into a wealthy family in Brussels, where art played a natural and integral role from an early age. His parents encouraged him to further develop his artistic talent, and at the age of sixteen he was admitted to the Brussels Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied under, among others, Jan Frans Portaels. In his early twenties, Toussaint moved to Paris to continue his studies. There he met the Belgian artist Alfred Stevens, who encouraged him to further refine his skills as a portrait painter. A true ‘gentleman’, Toussaint felt thoroughly at home in Paris and became part of the city’s cultural elite. During this period, he was particularly inspired by the work of the eighteenth-century French painter Nicolas Lancret. Lancret’s depictions of elegant festivities, in which young aristocrats amuse themselves, proved an important source of inspiration. As in Lancret’s work, clothing plays a significant role in Toussaint’s portraits: his figures are dressed in fashionable gowns and costumes made from luxurious fabrics. Despite this strong emphasis on texture and attire, the sitter’s face always remained paramount for Toussaint, rendered with striking detail and expressiveness. In Paris, Toussaint also encountered the portraits of the eighteenth-century artist Maurice-Quentin de La Tour, executed in characteristic pastel tones, which made a deep impression on him. Through his many travels—particularly to France and England—Toussaint continued to draw inspiration and gradually developed his own distinctive style. Alongside his Belgian roots, both French and English influences can be discerned in his work. He was drawn to French Impressionism, while simultaneously admiring the tradition of English portrait painting. Today, there is a renewed interest in the refined and sensitive paintings of this Belgian artist. In 1929, Fernand Toussaint was awarded a gold medal at the Salon de Paris. His work can be found in, among other collections, the Charlier Museum in Brussels and the Museum of Ixelles.