Toulouse-Lautrec

Post-Impressionism

Background

• Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was born as the son of an aristocratic and rich family in the South of France.

• At the age of 12 and 14, the young Henri broke both his legs.

• This stopped the growth of his legs while the rest of his body continued to develop normally.

• Toulouse never managed to cope mentally with this disability.

• “Of course one should not drink much, but often.” Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

• He lived and worked in Paris during the late 19th century.

• Lautrec lived in the Montmartre section, the nightlife quarter of cabarets, cafes, restaurants, sleazy dance halls and even brothels.

Montmartre

• The area of Montmartre on a hill looks grandly out over all of Paris.

• The name "Montmartre" comes from "Mont des Martyrs."

• He soon emerged into this world and became a part of the bohemian community.

• In the evenings, he could be seen chatting with friends and drinking, and at the same time drawing sketches on paper.

• The next day, he would transform the sketches into paintings and lithographs.

• One of his favourite spots was the Moulin Rouge night club (cabaret).

• Here is Nicole Kidman in a still from the famous recent movie.

At the Moulin Rouge 1892\95

• His most popular paintings and lithographs were inspired by the Moulin Rouge where he spent much of his time.

• The subject contains many of the club’s popular entertainers.

• It also includes a self-portrait of the artist.

• The glum assembly of characters seated around the table includes writer Edouard Dujardin, entertainer La Macarona, photographer Paul Sescau, winemaker Maurice Guibert, and another redhead, perhaps entertainer Jane Avril.

• The woman with the green face illuminated with artificial light is May Milton, another popular dancer of the day.

• The eerie green light of the interior evokes an unhealthy atmosphere. • The artist then added to the visual drama by utilizing different curving

lines.

• The curving lines contrast with the strong diagonals of the banister and the floorboards, which rush forward toward the viewer, enhancing the lively mood.

Impressionism

• Toulouse-Lautrec was influenced by the Impressionists.• For him the bright colours and visable brusmarks of

these artist were used for more expressive purposes.

Quadrille…Moulin Rouge 1892

The subject• The Quadrille,

forerunner to the French Cancan, was a popular dance in Parisian dance halls.

• He portrays movement and private moments through a slice-of-life glimps.

• The Composition like others is abruptly cropped and somewhat unfinished.

The linear and uncluttered appearance of this works and others, as well as the flat, almost two-dimensional quality, was influenced by Japanese art.

Japanese prints

Jane Avril Dancing1892

• The figures are caricatured to highlight their essential attributes.

• “These people annoy me. They want me to finish things. But I see them in such a way and paint them accordingly. Look, it is so easy to finish things.”

• “Nothing is simpler than to complete pictures in a superficial sense. Never does one lie so cleverly as then. ”  

Jane Avril Dancing1892

This work like many others contains figures in an interior night scene, lit by glaring, artificial light.

Jane Avril Dancing1892

• The figures are caricatured to highlight their essential attributes.

Jane Avril Poster 1893

• Celebrity status at the fin de siècle depended largely on the creation of a high profile, easily recogniZable image.

• The entertainment lithograph offered the most powerful means to achieve this.

Lithography

• During the nineteenth century, posters were produced by a process called lithography, literally “stone writing.”

• Toulouse-Lautrec’s lithograph L’estampe originale shows a professional in action at his press, while the familiar Jane Avril studies the freshly-printed posters.

Jane Avril Poster 1899

• In comparison to the poster made of her six years before, this design shows both Avril and Lautrec under the sway of Art Nouveau.

Art Nouveau

• French for "The New Art." An international art movement and style of decoration and architecture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries

• It is characterized particularly by the curvilinear depiction of leaves and flowers, often in the form of vines.

Jane Avril Poster 1899

• The snake, at which she feigns horror, is used to complement her twisting form.