Toulouse-Lautrec

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Toulouse-Lautrec

• Post-Impressionism

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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.

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

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• 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.

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Montmartre

• The area of Montmartre on a hill looks grandly
  out over all of Paris.
• The name "Montmartre" comes from "Mont des
  Martyrs."

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• 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.

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

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

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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.

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• The subject contains many of the clubs popular
  entertainers.
• It also includes a self-portrait of the artist.

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• 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.

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

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

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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.

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QuadrilleMoulin 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.

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

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

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Japanese prints
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Jane Avril Dancing1892

• The figures are caricatured to highlight their
  essential attributes.

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• 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.   

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Jane Avril Dancing1892

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

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Jane Avril Dancing1892

• The figures are caricatured to highlight their
  essential attributes.

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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.

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Lithography

• During the nineteenth century, posters were
  produced by a process called lithography,
  literally stone writing.
• Toulouse-Lautrecs lithograph Lestampe originale
  shows a professional in action at his press,
  while the familiar Jane Avril studies the
  freshly-printed posters.

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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.

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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.

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Jane Avril Poster 1899

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