Biography of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

The color of Europe

24 November 1864
September 9, 1901
Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec was born on 24 November 1864 in Albi (France). Comes from a good family: her father is count Alphonse de Toulouse-Lautrec and the mother Adèle de Toulouse-Lautrec. His family owns several properties in the area of Gironde and in Midi, in France. In Paris the Toulouse-Lautrec have various estates and apartments. At age four, Henri lives on her parents ' divorce. In youth suffer from various diseases due to consanguineous marriage between the parents. In those years, even one of her brothers died one year after birth. He moved to Paris with his mother, he attended the Lycée Fontanes where reports an excellent result and is characterized by its liveliness. Soon he forced to withdraw from school, because it begins to manifest the disease that will afflict him throughout his life: dwarfism. In 1878 a tragic event marks deeply: his house kicking parquet stumbles on the left femur. A year later, while located in Barèges, falls into a ditch, breaking the other leg.
Toulouse-Lautrec has another disease, pycnodysostosis, which does not allow him to heal the fractures which reported in those particular situations. His legs stop so to grow and its height in adulthood is one meter and fifty centimeters. On this occasion, during his long periods of convalescence, finds comfort in painting that became his passion; He also began to take painting lessons that are taught by Rene Princeteau, a deaf-mute who begins a career as an artist. In 1881 continues to perform various designs in a notebook which he calls "Cahier Zig Zags". The subjects of the works carried out in this period are his family, the sea, hunting, horses.
In the same year obtained the baccalauréat, deciding to devote himself exclusively to art. The following year he began to attend the art studio of the famous French master Leon Bonnat. After three months Bonnat began a career as a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts, deciding then to close his art studio. Toulose-Lautrec then starts dating the atelier of Fernand Cormon in Montmartre district of Paris. Here he met several artists of the era, including: Vincent Van Gogh, Anquetin, Emile Bernard. In 1883 exposes the work "Un petit accident" in Pau at the Société des Amis des Arts, signing it under the name of Mofà. The following year opens with Albert Grenier a study, often working outdoors and going to clubs and cafés of Paris (Le Moulin de La Galette, Noit chats, The Mirliton). The paintings done in this period depict customers at the tables, the dancers, singers and are signed by him under the name "Tréclau". Also gets closer and closer to the Group of artists known as Les Artistes Inchoérents, so called because they represent in their canvases of the topics in a humorous way and Maverick. With this group exposes, in 1886, the famous painting "Les Batignolles trois ans et demie avant Jésus-Christ". In the same year rents a new studio, which continues so assiduous at painting.
In his works he also began to draw inspiration from the style of painting of Edgar Dégas and friends Van Gogh and Bernard. In 1889 with the group Les Artistes Inchoérents exposes a new work, "Portrait d'une famille atteinte de la petite grelure" and malhereuse in the same period exhibits two paintings ("Bal du Moulin de la Galette" and "portrait of Forcaud") at the Salon des Indépendents. These two works do not get a good rating from French critics. In the late 1880s also exhibited with the Group of artists "Les XX" the following paintings: "Au Cirque: dans les coulisses", "M.me Adèle de Toulouse-Lautrec", "François Gauzi" and "La Comtesse Adèle de Toulouse-Lautrec in the lounge of the Chateau de Malromé." The artist then begins to become interested even to lithography being commissioned by Charles Ziedler, owner of Moulin Rouge, for the creation of a poster advertising that will have good success.
After the success of following the realization of the poster created for the Moulin Rouge, in the years 1892-1893 manufactures for other local French other posters. In the following years travels very touching countries such as Holland, Belgium, Russia, England and Spain. Besides his artistic production is very rich; exposes many works also in various places such as the Salon des Cent, the Royal Aquarium in London, Goupil-Boussod-Valadon. Numerous French magazines come to Toulouse-Lautrec for carrying posters and lithographs. If artistically gets great success, lives a difficult situation personally dictated by his physical condition. In recent years drowns his sorrows in alcohol and lives several depression. At the end of the 1890s his health worsen, affecting even in his artistic production. In 1900 exposes some its posters in Bordeaux and in Budapest and participates at the universal exposition in Paris. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec dies on September 9, 1901 due to a cerebral hemorrhage.
Article contributed by the team of collaborators.