Henri de Toulouse Lautrec was born on Nov. 24, 1864 in Albi, France. He was an aristocrat, the son and heir of Comte Alphonse-Charles de Toulouse and last in line of a family that dated back a thousand years. Henri was weak and often sick. By the time he was 10 he had begun to draw and paint. At 12 young Toulouse Lautrec broke his left leg and at 14 his right leg. The bones failed to heal properly, and his legs stopped growing. Being deprived of the wonders of life that a normal body would have permitted, Henri turned to another outsource; art. He stayed in the Montmartre. This was a section of Paris that was full of cabaret entertainment and bohemian life. Henri was instantly drawn in and found muse within the prostitutes. Circuses, dance halls and nightclubs, racetracks all these spectacles were placed on a canvas or made into lithographs. As an advertising major I know one factor will always remain true. Sex sells. Henri’s works are a perfect blend of excitement and modern. As a designer I can relate very well to Toulouse Lautrec’s style. He was inspired by Japanese artists who use bold lines and rash brush strokes. That is how I prefer to draw. He is proof that less is more and simplicity can be so striking.
One of my favorite pieces is The Circus. Here you see the ringleader standing in the center of the ring and the beautiful rider on the horse. There is so much more in the piece that’s meets the eye. As the ring leader cracks his whip he marvels at the beauty riding her horse. You can feel the sexual tension and the forbidden desire. Lautrec was very much a part of all this activity. He would sit at the infamous Moulin Rouge, flirting, laughing and drinking, and at the same time he would make swift sketches. Then the next morning in his studio he would expand the sketches into bright-colored paintings. He loved to catch the present moment like an impressionist, but look for something much deeper.
In comparison to the film Moulin Rouge by Baz Luhrmann they both share the same brightly colored atmosphere that is always fast pace. Both film and artworks play a lot with shadows and its main focus is the prostitutes. Another comparison is the film at first begins as a comedy, but turns into a romantic tragedy. Just like Henri’s life. He was always known for his wild antics and sense of humor calling people “pigs”. However in order to become a part of the Bohemian lifestyle as well as to protect himself against the crowd's ridicule. As a result he began to drink heavily. In the 1890s the drinking started to affect his health. He was confined to a sanatorium, but he could not stay away from alcohol. This is when he recreated his famous works like The Circus only this time instead of showing sexual luster over the rider the painting took on a new persona. It was displaying discipline and control. Unfortunately Toulouse Lautrec died on Sept. 9, 1901, at the family chateau of Malrome.
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