drawing

Cartoon-Style Flat Illustration of Designer

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec- French painter

Renowned French Painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Capturing the Essence of Art
Portrait of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Renowned French Painter and Artist
Portrait of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Renowned French Painter and Artist

Henri Toulouse-Lautrec    (1864–1901) was a brilliant artist, avant-gardist, and post-impressionist. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s art could be described as ‘amoral’ – his paintings showcased the nightlife of poor neighborhoods in Paris,🗼 preparing prostitutes for work, dancers and clowns sipping drinks, adjusting stockings before taking the stage. The master was born into a very wealthy and well-known family, inheriting a noble title by birthright, and was intended by his father to lead a life filled with horse riding, hunting, and balls, becoming a surgeon or athlete. But fate had a different plan – an incurable disease discovered at a young age forever closed the door to an active lifestyle, and his talent as an artist defined his pursuit for the rest of his days. In childhood, he broke his hip.

Portrait of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Renowned French Painter and Artist

 After months, he recovered… but a year later, he fell and broke his other leg. The boy had thin and fragile bones, which healed poorly. Since then, his legs began to lag in growth from his body, and the handsome child turned into an ungainly teenager. The artist’s talent emerged around the same time, and the young man actively pursued its development… but not quite in the way that was expected of him. He could have gotten an amazing education, graduated from the finest schools in France and Europe, as he had plenty of money from his parents. However, he didn’t study for long — he learned the basics and then began experimenting with his own style. 

Bordello? So what? Nowhere else do I feel more comfortable.
palette, watercolor
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec   
artist

He fell in love with Montmartre. The artist was enchanted by the poor district of Paris, the heart of the city’s nightlife. In 1884, he began to live in cabarets, bars, and public houses. His mother was extremely worried about these decisions. And she turned out to be right — Henri started drinking a lot of alcohol, and in the brothels, he painted the everyday lives of prostitutes.

He was an outsider and gravitated towards others who were also outsiders. He saw and painted scenes of lesbian love♀️♀️. (This was common among prostitutes.) He painted girls engaged in everyday tasks, but never their clients. The artist genuinely cared about and empathized with them. He ate with them, brought them various treats. He comforted them. They treated him like family. The artist remembered all the girls’ birthdays, gave them presents. He knew their secrets, he was their friend

He was a very productive artist and the founder of the poster genre. He used unexpected techniques that no one had used before him. Silhouette in posters, stylized images, bold composition, limited color palette. He cropped the head of the singer in the ‘Japanese Sofa’ poster.

Critics were not very supportive of the master’s work. His innovative techniques, unusual colors, and strong influence of Japanese art seemed like a “hollow endeavor and a desire for a cheap effect of novelty” to European art experts.

The artist had a tremendous number of commissions. However, it was only after his death that Toulouse-Lautrec received recognition from the official art world, and his works became a starting point for the Art Nouveau painting

Scroll to Top
Skip to content