Several nude figures stand in a compressed space, their overlapping forms simplified to just a few lines and marks. Carved with his pocketknife, "The Brothel" was Maurice de Vlaminck’s first woodcut print, created when he was living with his friend and fellow Fauve André Derain in Chatou, France, just to the west of Paris. Vlaminck later recounted that he found the block of wood in the bathroom of their shared studio. Much like other French artists in the 19th century, such as Édouard Manet (1832–1883) and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901), Vlaminck depicted sex workers in several compositions during this period, revealing his interest in showing the reality of that profession.