La Belle Époque
The Beautiful Era
(1871-1914) – the pinnacle is the 1890’s
 Also known as the Golden Age
 Peace and prosperity allowed the Arts to
flourish in Paris
 Paris has Large underclass that does not get to
experience the wonders and entertainment of
this era
 In Midnight in Paris Adriana has always
wanted to experience Paris in the 1890’s
 She and Gil (Owen Wilson) travel there and
see Lautrec, Degas and Gauguin
(1864 – 1901)
Painter, Printmaker, Illustrator
•Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was
born in 1864 in Albi, France, the
son of a count and countess.
•His parents separated and Henri
lived with his mother in Paris.
•She quickly realized he had
artistic talent.
•Henri suffered from several
genetic problems. His legs
stopped growing when he was
about 12, so he had an adult
upper body, but the legs of a
child.
•Physically unable to
participate in most of the
activities of his peers, he
turned intensely to his art.
• In Paris, he was drawn to
the area of Montmartre,
which was a famous haunt
of artists and writers who
lived a bohemian lifestyle.
•He would spend the rest of
his life there, making friends
like Vincent van Gogh.
•His painting instructor
encouraged him to roam
about Paris looking for
subjects to paint.
Lautrec’s Portrait of Vincent van
Gogh (1887)
•When a nearby cabaret
opened, Toulouse-Lautrec was
hired to create a series of
posters advertising it.
•While making posters gave
him a good source of income,
other artists frowned on it as
commercial. He didn’t care.
Ambassadeurs Aristide Bruant
(1892)
•Toulouse-Lautrec
spent a lot of time in
and around the
Moulin Rouge, his
paintings were of the
dancers and their
patrons.
•There was always a
table for him at the
cabaret, and his
work was displayed
on the walls.
Jane Avril Leaving the Moulin Rouge
(1892)
Self portrait in the crowd at the Moulin Rouge
(he is on the right, seen in profile)
Jane Avril (1893)
Mary Belfort (1895)
The clown Cha-U-Kao at the
Moulin Rouge (1995)
Jane Avril (1899)
•During a career of less
than 20 years, ToulouseLautrec created 737
paintings, 275
watercolors, 262 prints
and posters, over 5000
drawings, and some
ceramics and stained
glass.
•He specialized in
capturing people in their
work environment, often
gaudy night life creatures
seen in an unglamorous
way. He created detailed
crowd scenes where every
person could be identified
as a real individual.
 In 1893 Lautrec's alcoholism began to take its toll
 He even had a cane that hid alcohol so that a drink
was always available
•Toulouse-Lautrec was placed in
a sanatorium shortly before his
death.
•He died from complications due
to alcoholism and syphilis at the
family estate in Malromé at the
age of 36.
(1834 – 1917)
Painter
 Edgar Degas was born in Paris,
France on July 19, 1834.
 He was the eldest of 5 children
in a moderately wealthy family.
 In school, he studied literature and his father
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wanted him to be a lawyer.
Degas began to paint, and knew he was an
artist.
In 1855 (age 21), he entered the Ecole des
Beaux Arts and studied drawing.
In 1856, he traveled to Italy and drew and
painted copies of Renaissance masterpieces.
By 1860, he had made morethan 700 copies of
classical paintings–it was his way of learning
how to be an artist
•He returned to Paris in
1859 and moved into a
large studio and began
painting portraits,
paintings based on stories
from history, and horses.
•His work was classical in
style, and was accepted
by the Salon (the salon
was a big annual art
exhibition in Paris where
works were judged and
careers were made and
ruined). In 1872, he
visited relatives in New
Orleans, where he
made this painting
•He returned to Paris
in 1873 after the
death of his father.
His brother had run
up debts, so he began
to paint as a way to
make money.
The Dance Class (1873-76)
•He was tired of the
Salon, and joined a
group of young artists
who were organizing
their own exhibiting
society. They were
called Impressionists,
for their colorful, less
classical style.
Place de la Concorde (1875)
Degas didn’t like the label “Impressionist”, and
although he was a leading member of the group, he
was critical of other artists styles and the way they
liked to paint “en plein air” (outside instead of in a
studio).
•Degas was interested
in photography, and
it’s influence can be
seen in his paintings.
His compositions are
often framed off-center,
as if seen through a
camera lens. The
subjects often seem
like snapshots–as if
they were captured in a
moment of time,
possibly unaware that
they were being seen.
L’Absinthe (1876)
•Degas liked to paint
people at work, and
painted hat makers,
laundresses, &
especially ballet
dancers. Most often
he shows them
backstage or in a
rehearsal, showing
the “work” part of
dancing.
Ballet Rehearsal (1873)
the Song of the Dog (1875-77)
•He was a master at using physical cues–body
language, manner of dress, posture – as well as
social status or kind of job they are doing – to help
us draw conclusions about them.
Orchestra Musicians (1870-71)
Dancers at the Bar (1888)
•Degas was difficult and argumentative, driving
away friends and artists alike. He believed that an
artist needed to be alone, with no social life, and
that is how he lived his life. He never married.
•Degas frequently left
unfinished portions in
his paintings. He
described himself as
having a habit “to begin
a hundred things and
not finish one of them”.
The Star (1876-77)
Blue Dancers (1898-99)
•Degas also created
sculptures, although this
is the only one that was
ever shown publicly until
after his death. Notice his
use of real cloth for her
skirt and hair ribbon.
When this piece was
exhibited, critics
complained of it’s
“appalling ugliness”.
Little Dancer of Fourteen Years
(1881)
•Around 1910 his poor eyesight forced him to quit
working. Having lived the life of a solitary bachelor,
he spent the last years of his life alone, wandering the
streets of Paris, until he died in 1917 at the age of 83
Painter, Sculptor
1848 – 1903
 Born on June 7, 1848
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in Paris, france
Mother was peruvian,
family lived Peru for 4
years
Family returns to
France when he is 7
Serves in the Merchant
Marine, then the
French Navy
Returns to Paris and
becomes a Stockbroker
•Marries a Danish woman and they have 5 children
•They live in Copenhagen where he is a stockbroker
•Paints in his free time – buys art in galleries and
makes friends with artists
Portrait of
Madame Gauguin
(1880)
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Decides he wants to
paint full time –
leaves his family in
Copenhagen and
goes back to Paris
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His early work is in
the impressionist
style which is very
popular at that time

He is not very
successful at his
art, he is poor

Leaves France to
find a simpler life on
a tropical island
Aline Gauguin
Brothers (1883)
•Visits his friend
Vincent van Gogh
in Arles, France
where they both
paint
•They quarrel, with
van Gogh famously
having his ear cut
off.
•Gauguin leaves
France and never
sees van Gogh
again
Night Café at Arles (1888)
•Decides he
doesn’t like
impressionism,
prefers native
art of Africa and
Asia because it
has more
meaning
(symbolism)
•He paints flat
areas of color
and bold
outlines
•He lives in
Tahiti and
paints images of
Polynesian life
The Siesta (1892)
Tahitian women on the beach (1891)
 His art is in the
Primitivism styleexaggerated body
proportions, animal
symbolism, geometric
designs and bold
contrasting colors
 Gauguin is the first
artist of his time to
become successful with
this style (so different
from the popular
impressionism)
 His work influences
other painters,
especially Pablo Picasso
When do you get married? (1892)
•Gauguin spent the remainder of his life painting and living
in the Marquesas Islands, a very remote, jungle-like
place in French Polynesia (close to Tahiti)
Gauguin’s house, Atuona,
Marquesas Islands
Gauguin lived
alone in the
jungle, where
one day his houseboy arrived
to find him dead, with a smile
on his face. He was 54 years
old (1903). He is buried among
the natives on the island.
Gauguin’s grave