Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French Post-Impressionist artist who lived from 1864 to 1901. He was born into a wealthy aristocratic family whose lineage could be traced back to the time of Charlemagne. His full name was Count Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa. Henri was one of two sons, and the only child of his parents to live to adulthood.
After the death of his brother, Toulouse-Lautrec’s parents separated. At eight years old, he moved to live with his mother in Paris, France. It was around this young age that his family started to recognize his artistic talents. Toulouse-Lautrec suffered a disability from congenital health conditions. He came from a noble family and as such, there was much inbreeding that likely led to his condition. These health problems were further aggravated by trauma. His legs suffered breaks that were never able to heal properly. After also getting Rickets during his adolescence, his legs stopped growing while the rest of his body matured normally. In adulthood, Toulouse-Lautrec grew to about 5 feet tall, or 1.5 meters. His mother moved him from Paris back home to Albi in southern France where he was born in an effort to help his body heal. Henri developed a love for art early in his life. It was something he could do to pass the time while convalescing.
Henri took his first informal art lessons under his father’s friend, the artist René Princeteau, while living with his mother in Paris. After he returned to Albi, Princeteau was able to convince his mother to let Toulouse-Lautrec return to Paris to study under the artist, Léon Bonnat. Bonnat was a strict conventionalist and was against any deviance from traditional art, including the Impressionists. However, this move physically brought Toulouse-Lautrec into Montmartre, the more bohemian side of Paris. After Bonnat moved away, Toulouse-Lautrec studied under Fernand Cormon. Cormon encouraged a lot more freedom for his students. It was during this period that Toulouse-Lautrec made acquaintances and friends with fellow artists, such as Vincent van Gogh and Émile Bernard.
While in Montmartre, away from the gaze of his mother and other family members, Toulouse-Lautrec started familiarizing himself with the less reputable crowd of Montmartre, including the prostitutes, drinkers, and gamblers. His disabilities caused him to drink in excess and so he spent much of his time in bars and clubs, soaking in the nightlife. As an illustrator, draftsman, printmaker, and painter, Toulouse-Lautrec was able to capture the decadent and more bohemian side of life in Montmartre, Paris during this time. He completed many commissioned works in which he made advertisement posters for entertainers, nightclubs, and even books.
His deteriorating health problems increased his dependence on alcohol for dealing with the pain. In addition to art, alcohol was his outlet. He famously owned a hollow walking cane that he kept filled with alcohol for emergencies. Toulouse-Lautrec’s hard living caught up with him and he died at just 36 years of age, from complications with alcoholism and syphilis.
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