Louis Anquetin was regarded as the most promising artist of the 19th century and he was a major influence on other artists of his time and later generations. In Paris, he was a part of a group of artists that included stalwarts like Vincent van Gough, Paul Gauguin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Emile Bernard and George Seurat. His early work was heavily influenced by ‘Impressionism’ but later, along with Bernard, developed a new method of painting called ‘Cloisonnisme’ that quickly gained him the reputation of an innovator in the Paris art scene. Anquetin never stayed put with any style and throughout his career, he experimented with different styles. This may partly be due to his innovative nature and restless spirit. During his later life, he was largely out of the art scene and after his death, he was nearly forgotten. However, in recent years his works have seen an uprise in interest, particularly his paintings of the mysterious women of the night, a subject that he worked on when he was in Rome.
