Toulouse Lautrec

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was one of the great personalities of fin de siecle Paris, a famous and popular figure known by, and knowing, everyone who mattered in bohemian circles. He is usually classified as a postimpressionist painter, along with his contemporaries Gauguin and van Gogh. In common with many artists, Toulouse-Lautrec had to struggle to gain acceptance, but unlike his peers, his fight was not so much for his art as for himself. At just slightly over 5 feet tall, he faced prejudice and derision. To assuage the hurt, he took to drink, which ultimately hastened his early death. A multi-talented artist, Toulouse-Lautrec became famous for recording the excitement and color of late-nineteenth-century Paris, namely, the nightclubs, cafés, restaurants, dance halls, and brothels. As an adult, Toulouse-Lautrec's career spanned a prolific 20-year period. Among his surviving works are 737 canvases, 275 watercolors, and 363 prints and posters. He was the first artist to explore and really exploit modern printmaking and the increased sophistication of advertising through lithographic posters.