Katherine Whitehead

French 112
November 29, 2015
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a famous French painter born on November 24, 1864
in Albi, France. His parents were first cousins, and as a result of inbreeding in his family,
many children were left with physical disabilities. As a teen, Lautrec fractured both of
his femurs and was left at only a little over 4 and a half feet tall. He also supposedly
endured toothaches and facial deformities as well. To help cope with his disabilities,
Lautrec found himself enveloped by the world of art.
In the early 1870s, he attended the Lyce Fontanes in Paris and studied with several
artists. In 1884, he moved to Montmarte, France, a place famous for its brothels and
bars. Lautrec was mesmerized by the extravagant shows, dancers and brothels. He found
himself drawing and painting pictures of the people of Montmarte as well as the dancers.
While also working with canvas, he began to incorporate printmaking where he would
become famous for his posters of the people and life in Montmarte and Paris. He created
several very famous pieces depicting the famous Moulin Rouge in Montmarte, possibly
also contributing to the success of the Moulin Rouge.
One of his most famous prints was Le Chat Noir which he made in 1896. Le Chat
Noir was one of the first modern cabaret nightclubs. It opened on November 18th, 1881
by Louis Rodolphe Salis in Montmarte and closed in 1897. I really like the print because
of the colors of the cat and the fonts he used. I liked the way he illustrated the poster to
advertise for Le Chat Noir.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec died on September 9, 1901 at the age of 36. According to

Bio.com, He left behind than 700 canvas paintings, 350 prints and posters and 5,000
drawings, among other works. He is one of my favorite artists because of the amazing
illustrations and paintings he did of Parisian life. I have also been to Montmarte and Ive
seen the Moulin Rouge in person, so I think its really cool getting to make that
connection to history and to modern life.

Sources
"Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web.
29 Nov. 2015.

"Le Chat Noir - ToulouseLautrec.over-blog.com." ToulouseLautrec.over-blog.com. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.