The images and information presented below are for the instruction of students and scholarly research.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
(1864-1901)
Ambassadeurs
Divan Japonaise
Unlike any other
well-known artist of the 19th century, Lautrec was
highly influenced by Japanese woodblock prints to create
his distinctive posters and lithographs. There are some
360 total works in his portfolio, the most popular of
which were turned into posters at that time. Upwards of
3,000 copies were made of the most popular prints—though
none of them were signed or numbered, merely marked with
his signature HT.
A pair of stunted legs plagued Lautrec since early
adolescence, caused by improper healing after they were
both broken. It was while he was recovering from these
breaks that he was encouraged to paint. While the rest
of Lautrec's body grew into that of a normal sized man,
his legs did not. He was never able to fully come to
terms with his disability, and it caused him great
mental strain.
Known for his depictions of nightlife at the Moulin
Rouge nightclub, he did not just illustrate the bohemian
lifestyle—he lived it. Everything that he depicted in
his Moulin Rouge prints came from actual experiences he
had. Though born from a wealthy family, Lautrec chose to
live in the seedy Montmartre district amongst the wicked
nightlife to fully immerse himself into the bohemian
way. Lautrec was friendly with many of his cancan dancer
subjects, particularly La Goulue, whom he depicted many
times. He would often be seen sketching while in the
company of friends, drinking and smoking all at the same
time. These sketches would later be transformed into
blocks to create prints (most likely, by a professional
wood carver).
Moulin Rouge Poster
La Clowness
La Goulue is perhaps
Lautrec's best known print, with recreations being sold
by art dealers everywhere. Notice the flat
oriental-styling and the use of only red, black and
yellow. Even though the print seems flat, their are also
obvious levels of foreground, mid-ground and background.
Goulue, the shameless cancan dancer featured in the
print, also caught the eye of another famous artiste of
the day, Auguste Renoir.
Lautrec was also in high demand around the turn of the
century and was commissioned for many theater posters,
and magazine and newspaper illustrations. Lautrec also
produced a number of lithographs for famous French
personalities of the day, known as the Belle Epoque.
Unfortunately, it was Lautrec's bohemian lifestyle that
caused him to meet his end. He died at the age of 36 due
to a stroke brought on by his excessive alcohol
consumption. His prints are now in high demand at
auctions especially his Moulin Rouge series. With so
many smaller prints and original sketches floating
around, could you have an original?
