Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

the Parisian nightlife

Toulouse-Lautrec captured Parisian nightlife around 1890: cabarets, dance halls and the people of Montmartre.

💡 Did you know? He lived in the midst of this world himself and knew the dancers, singers and brothel women personally.

poster art

Toulouse-Lautrec raised the advertising poster to an art form in its own right; his lithographic posters for the Moulin Rouge are icons to this day.

💡 Did you know? His Moulin Rouge poster made the venue world-famous.

old nobility

Toulouse-Lautrec came from one of the oldest noble families in France.

💡 Did you know? His parents were first cousins: the close kinship is thought to be a cause of his bone disease.

short stature after leg fractures

Excluded from the life of the nobility, he turned entirely to art.

💡 Did you know? After breaking both legs in his youth, Toulouse-Lautrec's legs stopped growing: he remained short-statured and suffered from it all his life.

Paris

Toulouse-Lautrec lived as an artist in the heart of the Montmartre pleasure district of Paris.

💡 Did you know? He even kept a bed in the brothel and was treated by the women there as one of their own.

at 36 (1901)

His restless life wore down his health.

💡 Did you know? Ravaged by alcohol, Toulouse-Lautrec died at only 36 in his family's château.

At the Moulin Rouge

Around 1892: a scene from the famous Parisian dance hall.

💡 Did you know? At the edge a ghostly, green-lit woman's face appears: a boldly modern composition.

At the Moulin Rouge, The Dance

Painted around 1890.

💡 Did you know? The dancer La Goulue whirls across the floor: Toulouse-Lautrec made her famous.

La Toilette

Painted around 1889.

💡 Did you know? A woman from behind while dressing: Toulouse-Lautrec showed such everyday moments entirely without pose.

La Blanchisseuse

Painted around 1880.

💡 Did you know? An exhausted young laundress gazes out of the window: a sympathetic picture of a hard life.

In the Salon at the Rue des Moulins

Painted around 1894.

💡 Did you know? Women waiting in a brothel: Toulouse-Lautrec painted them with dignity and without voyeurism.

Equestrienne (At the Cirque Fernando)

Painted around 1888.

💡 Did you know? An early masterpiece: the circus fascinated Toulouse-Lautrec all his life.

Self-portrait in front of a mirror

Painted around 1882.

💡 Did you know? A rare, unflattering look by the artist at himself.

The Hangover (Suzanne Valadon)

Painted around 1889.

💡 Did you know? The model was Suzanne Valadon, who herself became an important painter.

The Artist's Father Driving a Mail-Coach

Painted around 1880.

💡 Did you know? Toulouse-Lautrec's father was an eccentric horse fanatic; the son painted horses masterfully even as a child.

The Rope Dancer

Painted around 1899.

💡 Did you know? The circus performers too Toulouse-Lautrec caught in sweeping lines.

Le Lit

Painted around 1892.

💡 Did you know? Two women lie tenderly together: Toulouse-Lautrec painted such intimate scenes as a matter of course.

Moulin Rouge: La Goulue (poster)

Around 1891: the famous poster that made the Moulin Rouge world-famous.

💡 Did you know? This 1891 poster made Toulouse-Lautrec famous overnight and revolutionised the art of advertising.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864 to 1901) was a French painter and printmaker who unforgettably captured the Montmartre nightlife of Paris.

💡 Did you know? Of old noble stock and short-statured, Toulouse-Lautrec found his home among dancers and outsiders and died at only 36.