(1864-1901)
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
was born on November 24,
1864 in southern France.
He came from a one of the
wealthiest families in
Europe.
His Father was a
Count(an European
nobleman).
Count
Alphonse
creatively
dressed in
a hunting
costume.
Lautrec Painted this picture of his
mother in 1883 when he was 19
Comtesse
Adele-Zoe de
ToulouseLautrec
Henri was weak and often sick.
By ten years old he had begun to draw and paint. He loved to
paint the animals that lived on the farms and in his family’s many
estates.
Oil Painting Title: Margot by
Henri Toulouse Lautrec
At twelve Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
broke his left leg when he was getting
up from a chair.
He took a long time to get better and
then….
At fourteen his broke his
right leg.
His legs never grew
normal after that.
While he was recovering from
his broken legs, Henri had lots
of time to practice Painting and
drawing.
Henri de Toulouse
Lautrec was sad to not
be able to follow in his
father’s footsteps of
riding and hunting.
Instead, he focused on
sketching and painting
the things he loved.
Count Alphonse de Toulouse-Lautrec,
his Father, on Horseback in Costume.
1881 painted when he was just 17
Artilleryman Saddling His
Horse. 1878 or 1881 Lautrec
would have been just 14-17 years
old
Henri was just 16 when he painted his father Count Alphonse
driving his coach with a team of powerful horses.
Henri preferred to paint pictures of ordinary
people. Many who did not have money at all.
He is best known for his paintings of lively
scenes.
He painted circuses
In the Circus
Fernando:
The
Ringmaster,
1887-88
Located in
The Art
Institute of
Chicago
Dance Halls
Night clubs
Henri was so interested in art his parents agreed to let him
study art in Paris when he was 17 years old.
Henri met Vincent Van Gogh in one of his art classes.
Henri was 23 when
he painted this
picture of Van
Gogh sitting in a
café’
Henri was able to capture
Vincent’s concentration and
restless energy
Henri had a talent of
showing people in simple
real movements of
everyday life.
Most artists of his time
painted people posing in
their best outfits with
elaborate furniture and
backgrounds.
Henri thought you could
tell more about people
observing them in
everyday motions like
combing their hair.
Or…
Enjoying the Night Life at Moulin Rouge
(nightclub and dancehall in Paris)
In fact, Henri started
spending lots of time at the
Moulin Rouge.
The owner asked if Henri
could create some posters to
promote his nightclub and
dance hall.
Many People think Henri
Toulouse Lautrec’s posters
are his Greatest works of art.
He made them easy to read.
He used large flat
areas of color to
grab people’s
attention!
These techniques
are still used in
posters and
advertising today!
Henri’s posters were printed in large numbers to
promote the club.
A technique called lithography was used. This
style was similar to Japanese woodblock prints.
An image was drawn in wax or another oily
substance and applied to a smooth lithographic
stone. The ink would be applied and transferred
to a blank sheet of paper. This was an
inexpensive way to reproduce artwork.
Henri’s posters were soon displayed all over Paris.
Henri used techniques to grab a persons attention from far away.
Sometimes he cut people or objects off the edge of his poster or
painting.
Jane Avril was a Cancan
dancer at Moulin Rouge.
Henri Lautrec created
this poster of her
Notice an arm holding
an instrument is cut off
the bottom of the
poster. You can also see
sheets of music. You can
almost hear the music as
she dances.
Lautrec created this poster of the Cancan dancers in 18951896 He was 31 years old.
This is one of Lautrec’s most famous paintings. It is displayed in The Art
Institute of Chicago. He painted himself with his much taller cousin Gabriel.
He used strong, colorful, indoor lighting in a powerful way.
The woman's face is on the edge. This is how Henri captured the moments as
they appeared at the time. This painting looks more like a photograph than a
painting where everyone is strategically placed!
At the Moulin Rouge, 1892/95 The Art Institute of Chicago
Henri’s Posters were getting
lots of attention and he was
enjoying his fame.
He was fun to hang out with
and had many friends. Some of
his friends were also famous
artists like Renoir, Camille
Pissarro, and Vincent Van
Gogh.
However, Henri was still very
unhappy about being different
from everyone else.
Henri began spending all of his
time at the nightclub.
He spent late nights drinking, partying and sketching
the people and dancers he saw.
The next day he would turn his sketches into paintings.
Henri was drinking too much and was not taking care
of himself.
His family and friends worried about his health.
His drinking began to affect his health and he was confined to a
hospital.
He was sent home to live with his mother who cared for him until
he died. He was only 36 years old.
After Lautrec’s death, his mother and Maurice Joyant, his art
dealer, promoted his art. His mother contributed funds for a
museum to be built in Albi, France his birthplace, to house his
works.
Several of his painting are on display in
The Art Institute of Chicago.
If you ever get a chance to see a
Henri Toulouse Lautrec painting up
close you may notice that many of
his painting look drippy. He thinned
his oil paints out so much they were
almost like watercolors.
He used his paintbrush like a pencil
and liked to draw with the brush.
La blanchisseuse", a painting of a young
laundress, sold for $22.4 million U.S.
at an auction in 2005
Henri had a talent of
expressing people’s moods
and personality.
His Paintings seem to let you
in on a persons inner most
feelings, both happy or sad.
Toulouse-Lautrec, Cezanne,
Van Gogh, and Gauguin are
known as some of the
greatest painters of the PostImpressionist period
Jane Avril Leaving the MoulinRouge