Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
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| Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec | |
| Image:Photolautrec.jpg Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. | |
| Birth name | Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec Monfa |
| Born | November 24 1864 Image:Flag of France.svg Albi, Tarn, France |
| Died | September 9 1901 (aged 36) Image:Flag of France.svg Malrome, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Field | Painter, Printmaker, draftsman, illustrator |
| Movement | Post-Impressionism, Art Nouveau |
| Famous works | bohemian, Earthquake (cocktail), Cognac |
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (pronounced [ɑ̃ʁi dø tuluz loˈtʁɛk]) (November 24, 1864 – September 9, 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draftsman, and illustrator, whose immersion in the decadent and theatrical life of fin de siècle Paris yielded an oeuvre of provocative images of modern life.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Youth
Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec Monfa was born in Albi, Tarn in the Midi-Pyrénées Region of France, the firstborn child of Comte Alphonse and Comtesse Adèle de Toulouse-Lautrec. An aristocratic family that had recently fallen on hard times, the Toulouse-Lautrecs were still feeling the effects of the inbreeding of past generations; the Comte and Comtesse were first cousins, and Henri suffered from a number of congenital health conditions attributed to this tradition of inbreeding (see below). A younger brother was born to the family on August 28, 1867, but died the following year.
[edit] Disfiguration
At ages 13 and 14, Henri fractured both his thigh bones. The breaks did not heal properly. Modern physicians attribute this to an unknown genetic disorder, possibly pycnodysostosis (also sometimes known as Toulouse-Lautrec Syndrome),[1] or a variant disorder along the lines of osteopetrosis, osteoporosis, or osteogenesis imperfecta.[2] Rickets aggravated with praecox virilism has also been suggested. His legs ceased to grow, so that as an adult he was only 1.54 m (5.05 ft) tall,[3] having developed an adult-sized torso but retained his child-sized legs (0.70 m/27.5 in long). However, he is also reported to have had hypertrophied genitals.[4]
Physically unable to participate in most of the activities typically enjoyed by men of his age, Toulouse-Lautrec immersed himself in his art. He became an important post-Impressionist painter, art nouveau illustrator, and lithographer and recorded in his works many details of the late-19th century bohemian lifestyle in Paris. Toulouse-Lautrec also contributed a number of illustrations to the magazine Le Rire during the mid-1890s.
[edit] Paris
He was declared to be "The soul of Montmartre", the Parisian quarter where he made his home. He often portrayed life at the Moulin Rouge and other Montmartre and Parisian cabaret and theaters, and, particularly, in the brothels that he frequented avidly (allegedly, he contracted syphilis from Rosa la Rouge, who lived in a brothel). He lived there for long periods among the women that adopted him wholeheartedly and made him their confidant and the witness of their most intimate acts that inspired the lesbian scenes of many of his drawings and paintings. He painted singer Yvette Guilbert, Louise Weber, known as the outrageous La Goulue, the glutton, a dancer who created the "French Can-Can", and dancer Jane Avril.Toulouse-Lautrec gave painting lessons to Suzanne Valadon, one of his models (and, by all accounts, probably his mistress as well).
An alcoholic for most of his adult life, he was placed in a sanatorium shortly before his death. He died from complications due to alcoholism and syphilis at the family estate in Malromé, fewer than three months before his 37th birthday. He is buried in Verdelais, Gironde, a few kilometres from his birthplace. His last words reportedly were "Le vieux con!" ("Old fool").[5]
[edit] Tremblement de Terre
The invention of the Tremblement de Terre, Earthquake (cocktail) is attributed to Toulouse-Lautrec, a potent mixture containing half absinthe and half cognac.[6]
[edit] Legacy
Throughout his career, which spanned less than 20 years, he created 737 canvases, 275 watercolors, 363 prints and posters, 5,084 drawings, 300 pornographic works, some ceramic and stained glass work and an unknown number of lost works.[1]
After his death, his mother, the Comtesse Adèle Toulouse-Lautrec, and Maurice Joyant, his art dealer, promoted his art. His mother contributed funds for a museum to be built in Albi, his birthplace, to house his works. As of 2005, his paintings had sold for as much as $14.5 million.
[edit] Depiction in media
- The Beastie Boys song "The Move" from "Hello Nasty" contains the lyrics "I'm up to my neck, like Toulouse-Lautrec".
- Lautrec is a biographical movie directed by Roger Planchon and was released in 1998 [2].
- He is portrayed by John Leguizamo in the 2001 film Moulin Rouge! and by Jose Ferrer in the John Huston classic Moulin Rouge (1952).
- In both Revenge of the Pink Panther and Casino Royale, a character portrayed by comedian Peter Sellers tries on a Toulouse-Lautrec costume.
- In an episode of Bottom (Dough) Rik Mayall's character Richie drinks half a pint of Pernod believing it to be Absinthe and says "and they said Toulouse-Lautrec used to drink this, no wonder his legs fell off and his paintings were crap".
- There is an episode of The Inspector entitled "Toulouse La Trick" (an obvious play on words on Lautrec's name). In the episode, The Inspector must guard a villain named Toulouse Le Moose, whose only similarity to Lautrec (besides the first name) is that he has a large upper body set on a small pair of legs.
- In the episode "Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost" of SpongeBob SquarePants, SpongeBob carries Squidward on a palanquin, Squidward complains that it's "too cold" in one spot, so SpongeBob moves him to another that is "too hot", then finally to a spot that is "Toulouse-Lautrec" (complete with sting), the background a parody of Lautrec's "La Troupe de Mlle. Eglantine".
- In the Monty Python's Flying Circus episode A Book at Bedtime, the animated segment spoofs Impressionism by portraying Toulouse-Lautrec as a Western gunfighter in "No Time Toulouse, the Story of the Wild and Lawless Days of the Post-Impressionists".
- The late 70s comedy show SCTV did a satire of the classic Toulouse-Lautrec biographical movie Moulin Rouge. Joe Flaherty played the Toulouse-Lautrec/Jose Ferrer role.
- In the film An American in Paris the ballet sequence with Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron dance in front of a scenery painted in a similar style as Lautrec's. A man wearing a signboard which reads "Toulouse Lautrec" dances across the stage.
- "Toulouse-Lautrec is one of my favorite artists" is the title of a first season Mary Tyler Moore Show Episode in which Mary is dating an author who is "long on charm, short on .. height." The line is played as a "slip" by Mary in one of her exchanges with the author and eventually becomes the title of his next book.
- Woody Allen dedicated his book Without Feathers "To Louis Lautrec"
[edit] Selected works
Alone.jpg
Alone |
Lautrec ambassadeurs, aristide bruant (poster) 1892.jpg
Ambassadeurs: Aristide Bruant. |
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec 008.jpg
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Lautrec at the moulin rouge two women waltzing 1892.jpg
At the Moulin Rouge: Two Women Waltzing |
Jane Avril by Toulouse-Lautrec.jpeg
Avril (Jane Avril) |
Lautrec woman at her toilette 1896.jpg
The Toilette |
Toulouse-lautrec two girlfriends.jpg
The Two Girlfriends |
Toulouse-lautrec two half-naked women.jpg
Two Half-Naked Women Seen from behind in the Rue des Moulins Brothel |
Toulouse-lautrec stocking.jpg
Woman Pulling up her Stocking |
Toulouse-lautrec yvette guilbert.jpg
Yvette Guilbert Greeting the Audience. |
Lautrec may belfort (poster) 1895.jpg
May Belfort (singing Daddy Wouldn't Buy Me a Bow-wow) |
Hotel paris absinthe toulouse-lautrec-monsieur-boileau.jpg
Monsieur Boileau au café, |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Angier, Natalie (June 6, 1995). What Ailed Toulouse-Lautrec? Scientists Zero In on a Key Gene. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
- ^ Noble figure. The Guardian (November 20, 2004). Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
- ^ Why Lautrec was a giant. The Times (December 10, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
- ^ Ayto, John, and Crofton, Ian, Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase & Fable, page 747. Excerpted from Google Book Search. [1]
- ^ Toulouse Lautrec: The Full Story. Channel 4. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
- ^ Absinthe Service and Historic Cocktails. AbsintheOnline.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
[edit] External links
- Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre at the National Gallery of Art
- Website dedicated to Lautrec.
- Website about Lautrec with virtual tours.
- Factmonster page about Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri de
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