Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec | Biography, Artwork, Paintings, Moulin Rouge, & Facts

<!doctype html> <html lang="en" class="topic-desktop ui-ie7 ui-ie"> <head prefix="og: https://ogp.me/ns# fb: https://ogp.me/ns/fb#"> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133"> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133"> <link rel="preload" as="script" href="https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js" /> <link rel="icon" href="/favicon.png" /> <meta name="description" content="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French artist who documented with great psychological insight the personalities and facets of Parisian nightlife and the French world of entertainment in the 1890s. His use of free-flowing expressive line, often becoming pure arabesque, resulted in highly rhythmical compositions." /> <meta name="keywords" content="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, encyclopedia, encyclopeadia, britannica, article" /> <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec" /> <title>Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec | Biography, Artwork, Paintings, Moulin Rouge, & Facts | Britannica</title>  <script> !function(){"use strict";function e(e){const t=e.match(/((?=([a-z0-9._!#$%+^&*()[\]<>-]+))\2@[a-z0-9._-]+\.[a-z0-9._-]+)/gi);return t?t[0]:""}function t(t){return e(a(t.toLowerCase()))}function a(e){return e.replace(/\s/g,"")}async function n(e){const t={sha256Hash:"",sha1Hash:""};if(!("msCrypto"in window)&&"https:"===location.protocol&&"crypto"in window&&"TextEncoder"in window){const a=(new TextEncoder).encode(e),[n,c]=await Promise.all([s("SHA-256",a),s("SHA-1",a)]);t.sha256Hash=n,t.sha1Hash=c}return t}async function s(e,t){const a=await crypto.subtle.digest(e,t);return Array.from(new Uint8Array(a)).map(e=>("00"+e.toString(16)).slice(-2)).join("")}function c(e){let t=!0;return Object.keys(e).forEach(a=>{0===e[a].length&&(t=!1)}),t}function i(e,t,a){e.splice(t,1);const n="?"+e.join("&")+a.hash;history.replaceState(null,"",n)}var o={checkEmail:e,validateEmail:t,trimInput:a,hashEmail:n,hasHashes:c,removeEmailAndReplaceHistory:i,detectEmails:async function(){const e=new URL(window.location.href),a=Array.from(e.searchParams.entries()).map(e=>`=`);let s,o;const r=["adt_eih","sh_kit"];if(a.forEach((e,t)=>{const a=decodeURIComponent(e),[n,c]=a.split("=");if("adt_ei"===n&&(s={value:c,index:t,emsrc:"url"}),r.includes(n)){o={value:c,index:t,emsrc:"sh_kit"===n?"urlhck":"urlh"}}}),s)t(s.value)&&n(s.value).then(e=>{if(c(e)){const t={value:e,created:Date.now()};localStorage.setItem("adt_ei",JSON.stringify(t)),localStorage.setItem("adt_emsrc",s.emsrc)}});else if(o){const e={value:{sha256Hash:o.value,sha1Hash:""},created:Date.now()};localStorage.setItem("adt_ei",JSON.stringify(e)),localStorage.setItem("adt_emsrc",o.emsrc)}s&&i(a,s.index,e),o&&i(a,o.index,e)},cb:"adthrive"};const{detectEmails:r,cb:l}=o;r()}(); </script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel"> window.$UI = {}; window.Constants = {"LICENSE_URL": "/bps/license","DEFAULT_TEST_VERSION": "A","DEFAULT_STATE": "XX","QUIZ_URL": "/quiz","SPOTLIGHT_BROWSE_URL": "/stories/spotlight","CONTENT_TYPE_TEXT": "text/plain;charset=UTF-8","TOPIC_FACTS_DATA_URL": "/facts","QUIZ_BROWSE_IMAGE_QUIZZES": "images","TOPIC_MEDIA_PATH": "/images-videos","USER_PROFILE_URL": "/user","DEBUG_URL": "/debug","ONE_GOOD_FACT_URL": "/one-good-fact","ERROR_404_URL": "/error404","PROCON_CITED_IN_THE_NEWS_URL": "/procon/ProCon-in-the-News","PROCON_URL": "/procon","TOPIC_PAGE_CONTENT_AJAX_URL": "/topic-content/page","INFINITE_SCROLL_PREFIX_URL": "/scroll","TOPIC_TOP_QUESTION_BROWSE_URL": "/questions","CC_USD": "USD","domain": "britannica.com","PROCON_EDITOR_ID": "12941390","SURVEY_URL": "/survey","CATEGORY_BROWSE_URL": "/browse","STORY_BROWSE_URL": "/stories","COUNTRY_US": "US","OPEN_MEDIA_OVERLAY_PARAMETER": "/media","NEWSLETTER_SUBSCRIPTION_URL": "/newsletter-subscription","MAINTENANCE_ERROR_URL": "https://maintenance.eb.com","IMARS_EDITOR_ID": "12365882","PROFILE_EB_EDITOR_URL": "/editor","WEB_INF_RESOURCES_PATH": "WEB-INF/resources","AI_ABOUT_PAGE_URL": "/about-britannica-ai","TOPIC_ADDITIONAL_INFO_PATH": "/additional-info","SUDOKU_GAME_URL": "/games/sudoku","CC_INR": "INR","ARTICLE_PRINT_URL": "/print/article","FIRST_EDITION_URL": "/subscriber/firstedition","WW1_PORTAL_URL": "/discover/World-War-I","MENDEL_COOKIE": "__mendel","topicUrlClasses": "[topic, animal, art, biography, event, place, plant, science, sports, technology, procon, money]","DEMYSTIFIED_BROWSE_URL": "/stories/demystified","LIST_BROWSE_URL": "/list/browse","PROFILE_EXPERT_URL": "/contributor","ASSEMBLY_IMAGE_URL": "/image/assembly","DAY_IN_HISTORY_URL": "/on-this-day","DEFAULT_CURRENCY": "USD","CONTENT_TYPE_XML": "text/xml;charset=UTF-8","PORTAL_FINANCE_BROWSE_URL_PREFIX": "/money/browse","MONEY_IMARS_CATEGORY": "13000","AJAX_PREFIX_URL": "/ajax","TOPIC_BROWSE_URL": "/topic-browse","MARKETING_CONTENT": "/marketing-content","ENV_RUNTIME": "runtime","GALLERY_URL": "/gallery","topicUrlClassesList": "topic|animal|art|biography|event|place|plant|science|sports|technology|procon","CONTENT_TYPE_HTML": "text/html;charset=UTF-8","ENV_LOCAL": "override","MEDIA_OVERLAY_URL": "/media-overlay","CHATBOT_PAGE_URL": "/chatbot","NEWSLETTER_PAGE_URL": "/newsletters","ENV_DEV": "development","MEDIA_URL": "/media","TOPIC_TOP_QUESTION_URL": "/question","PORTAL_FINANCE_URL_PREFIX": "/money","PODCASTS_URL": "/podcasts","STAND_ALONE_VIDEO_URL": "/video","MORE_ON_THIS_DAY_URL": "/more-on-this-day","TOPIC_QUOTES_URL": "/quotes","SEARCH_PAGE_URL": "/search","PROCON_CLASS": "PROCON","KUSTOM_MENDEL_APPLICATION_ID": "1","TOPIC_CONTENT_AJAX_URL": "/topic-content/topic","ENV_BRANCH": "branch","ERROR_URL": "/error","MAIN_VERSION": "mainVersion","TOPIC_COLLECTION_URL": "/summary","LOGINBOX_URL": "/auth/loginbox","PROCON_DEBATE_TOPICS_URL": "/procon/Debate-Topics","ONE_GOOD_FACT_BROWSE_URL": "/one-good-fact/all-good-facts","QUIZ_BROWSE_URL": "/quiz/browse","BIO_BROWSE_URL": "/browse/biographies","LIST_URL": "/list","TIGHTROPE_QUIZ_URL": "/quiz/tightrope","ALPHA_BROWSE_URL": "/sitemap","CONTENT_TYPE_JSON": "application/json","DICTIONARY_URL": "/dictionary","COBRAND_IMAGE_URL": "/image/cobrand","PROCON_IN_THE_NEWS_URL": "/procon/pro-and-con-issues-in-the-news","PROCON_BROWSE_URL": "/procon","QUIZ_BROWSE_VOCAB_QUIZZES": "vocabulary-quizzes","SUBMISSION_URL": "/submission","EB_LOG_OUT": "/auth2/logout","ENV_PRODUCTION": "production","EXPLORE_PORTAL_URL": "/explore","TOPIC_AJAX_URL": "/ajax/topic","TOPIC_SUMMARY_BROWSE_URL": "/summaries","WTFACT_BROWSE_URL": "/stories/wtfact","VIDEO_CHANNEL_URL": "/videos","GALLERY_BROWSE_URL": "/gallery/browse","CACHE_URL": "/cache","PROCON_ABOUT_URL": "/procon/About-ProCon","COMPANION_BROWSE_URL": "/stories/companion","MEDIA_FOLDER": "/eb-media","SHOW_ALL_CONTRIBUTORS": "/additional-info#contributors","BRITANNICA_EDITORS_ID": "4419","ENV_CACHE_DISABLED": "mendelCache","CALCULATORS_BROWSE_URL": "/calculators","STORY_URL": "/story","DEFAULT_COUNTRY": "US","NAVBAR_URL": "/ajax/navbar","EB_LOGIN_URL": "/auth/eb-login","NEW_ARTICLES_URL": "/new-articles",}; window.CDN = "https://cdn.britannica.com"; window.CAM_SETTINGS_URL = "https://cam.britannica.com/settings"; window.CAM_LOGIN_URL = "https://cam.britannica.com/login"; window.CAM_SIGN_UP_URL = "https://cam.britannica.com/registration" window.Mendel = { "config" : { "domain": "britannica.com", "page": "Topic", "videoPlayerId": "UyMCoK2v", "sharedUrl": "https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec", "amuselabsUrl": "https://cdn3.amuselabs.com", "resourcesPrefixUrl": "https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/[url]?v=3.133.9", "date": 20250216, "userInfo": { "type": "ANONYMOUS" ,"currency": "AUUS" ,"country": "SG" ,"state": "XX" ,"timezone": "Asia/Singapore" ,"bcomId": "734572842169176366" ,"hasAds": true ,"testVersion": "C" ,"adsTestVersion": "C" ,"consumerId": "" ,"instId": "" ,"consumerUserName": "" ,"instUserName": "" ,"cognito": null }, "tvs":{ "r":[25,25,25,25], "a": [25,25,45,5]}, "isLoggedInAsUser": false, "isPhone": false, "isDesktop": true, "logoutUrl": "/auth2/logout", "selfServiceUrl": "https://myaccount.britannica.com", "cdnUrl": "https://cdn.britannica.com", "chatbotApi": "https://www.britannica.com/chat-api", "fetchOffset": 800, "mendelCookieName": "__mendel", "mendelCookie": {"surveyShown":false,"visitedTopicId":600695,"currentDate":20250216}, "autocompleteToSearchPage": false,"topicUrl": "https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec", "freeTopicReason": "NO_REFERRER", "topicId": 600695, "template": "DESKTOP", "type": "CORE", "hasToc": true, "chatbotApi": "https://www.britannica.com/chat-api", "showPreview": false, }, "GA": {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","articleTemplateType":"BIO_PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} }; </script> <meta property="fb:app_id" content="1887621861548296"/ <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@britannica" /> <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://cdn.britannica.com/40/24340-050-32CF5746/Moulin-Rouge-oil-canvas-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec.jpg" /> <meta name="twitter:description" content="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French artist who documented with great psychological insight the personalities and facets of Parisian nightlife and the French world of entertainment in the 1890s. His use of free-flowing expressive line, often becoming pure arabesque, resulted in highly rhythmical compositions."/> <meta property="og:type" content="ARTICLE"/> <meta property="og:title" content="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec | Biography, Artwork, Paintings, Moulin Rouge, & Facts | Britannica"/> <meta property="og:description" content="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French artist who documented with great psychological insight the personalities and facets of Parisian nightlife and the French world of entertainment in the 1890s. His use of free-flowing expressive line, often becoming pure arabesque, resulted in highly rhythmical compositions."/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Encyclopedia Britannica" /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec"/> <meta property="og:image" content="https://cdn.britannica.com/40/24340-050-32CF5746/Moulin-Rouge-oil-canvas-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec.jpg" /> <meta property="og:image:type" content="image/jpeg" /> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="init opengraph"> Mendel.openGraph = {"type":"ARTICLE","title":"Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec | Biography, Artwork, Paintings, Moulin Rouge, & Facts","description":"Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French artist who documented with great psychological insight the personalities and facets of Parisian nightlife and the French world of entertainment in the 1890s. His use of free-flowing expressive line, often becoming pure arabesque, resulted in highly rhythmical compositions.","imageUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/40/24340-050-32CF5746/Moulin-Rouge-oil-canvas-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec.jpg","imageType":"image/jpeg","pageUrl":"https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec"}</script> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/" > <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/icon?family=Material+Icons"> <link href="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/vendor-bundle.css?v=3.133.9" rel="stylesheet" /> <link href="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/mendel-css.css?v=3.133.9" rel="stylesheet" /> <link href="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.css?v=3.133.9" rel="stylesheet" /> <script type="text/javascript"> if (self !== top) { top.location = self.location; } </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/at.js?v=3.133.9" async ></script> <script> dataLayer = []; </script> <script type="text/javascript">(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= '//www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-5W6NC8'); </script> <meta name="last-modified" content="2025-01-17" /> <script type="application/ld+json"> {"headline":"Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec | Biography, Artwork, Paintings, Moulin Rouge, & Facts","image":{"url":"https://cdn.britannica.com/40/24340-050-32CF5746/Moulin-Rouge-oil-canvas-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec.jpg","@type":"ImageObject"},"author":[{"name":"Alan Curtis Birnholz","url":"https://www.britannica.com/contributor/Alan-Curtis-Birnholz/286","@type":"Person"}],"keywords":"Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec","wordcount":1942,"url":"https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec","datePublished":"1999-07-28T00:00:00Z","dateModified":"2025-01-17T00:00:00Z","description":"Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French artist who documented with great psychological insight the personalities and facets of Parisian nightlife and the French world of entertainment in the 1890s. His use of free-flowing expressive line, often becoming pure arabesque, resulted in highly rhythmical compositions.","publisher":{"name":"Encyclopedia Britannica","@type":"Organization","logo":{"url":"https://corporate.britannica.com/wp-content/themes/eb-corporate/_img/logo.png","@type":"ImageObject"}},"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"article"} </script> </head> <body data-leg="C" class="new-topic topic-desktop first-page-true user-ANONYMOUS user-ads md-desktop leg-c b-ie">  <script>Mendel.config.adProvider='cafemedia';</script> <script data-no-optimize="1" data-cfasync="false"> (function(w, d) { w.adthrive = w.adthrive || {}; w.adthrive.cmd = w. adthrive.cmd || []; w.adthrive.plugin = 'adthrive-ads-manual'; w.adthrive.host = 'ads.adthrive.com';var s = d.createElement('script'); s.async = true; s.referrerpolicy='no-referrer-when-downgrade'; s.src = 'https://' + w.adthrive.host + '/sites/61575e5c934c481d714b3ca9/ads.min.js?referrer=' + w.encodeURIComponent(w.location.href) + '&cb=' + (Math.floor(Math.random() * 100) + 1); var n = d.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; n.parentNode.insertBefore(s, n); })(window, document); </script> <div class="ie-warning d-flex align-items-center align-self-center justify-content-center site-alert bg-orange"> <div> You are using an <strong>outdated</strong> browser. Please <a class="text-white text-underscore" href="https://browsehappy.com/">upgrade your browser</a> to improve your experience and security. </div> </div> <script id="json-navbar-info" type="application/json"> {"topSectionLinks":[{"title":"Ask the Chatbot","url":"/chatbot","navbarId":"CHATBOT"},{"title":"Games & Quizzes","url":"/quiz/browse","navbarId":"QUIZZES"},{"title":"History & Society","url":"/History-Society","navbarId":"HISTORY"},{"title":"Science & Tech","url":"/Science-Tech","navbarId":"SCIENCE"},{"title":"Biographies","url":"/Biographies","navbarId":"BIOS"},{"title":"Animals & Nature","url":"/Animals-Nature","navbarId":"ANIMALS"},{"title":"Geography & Travel","url":"/Geography-Travel","navbarId":"GEOGRAPHY"},{"title":"Arts & Culture","url":"/Arts-Culture","selected":true,"navbarId":"ART"},{"title":"ProCon","url":"/procon","navbarId":"PROCON"},{"title":"Money","url":"/money","navbarId":"MONEY"},{"title":"Videos","url":"/videos","navbarId":"VIDEOS"}],"selectedSuperCategory":{"id":2,"title":"Arts & Culture","url":"Arts-Culture","description":"Explore arts and culture; entertainment and pop culture, actors, comics, dance, film, food, music, theatre, tv; visual arts, architecture, fashion, painting, photography, sculpture; literature, fiction, nonfiction, plays, poetry, short story; sports and recreation","keywords":"entertainment and pop culture, actors, comics, dance, film, food, music, theatre, tv; visual arts, architecture, fashion, painting, photography, sculpture; literature, fiction, nonfiction, plays, poetry, short story; sports and recreation","classId":"ART","sortOrder":6},"selectedNavbarLink":{"title":"Arts & Culture","url":"/Arts-Culture","selected":true,"navbarId":"ART"}} </script> <script id="json-hamburger-menu" type="application/json"> {"britannicaMenu1":[{"title":"Home","url":"/"},{"title":"History & Society","url":"/History-Society"},{"title":"Science & Tech","url":"/Science-Tech"},{"title":"Biographies","url":"/Biographies"},{"title":"Animals & Nature","url":"/Animals-Nature"},{"title":"Geography & Travel","url":"/Geography-Travel"},{"title":"Arts & Culture","url":"/Arts-Culture"},{"title":"ProCon","url":"/procon"},{"title":"Money","url":"/money"}],"britannicaMenu2":[{"title":"Games & Quizzes","url":"/quiz/browse"},{"title":"Videos","url":"/videos"},{"title":"On This Day","url":"/on-this-day"},{"title":"One Good Fact","url":"/one-good-fact"},{"title":"Dictionary","url":"/dictionary"},{"title":"New Articles","url":"/new-articles"}],"browseByCategory":[{"title":{"id":5,"title":"History & Society","url":"/History-Society"},"links":[{"title":"Lifestyles & Social Issues","url":"/browse/Lifestyles-Social-Issues"},{"title":"Philosophy & Religion","url":"/browse/Philosophy-Religion"},{"title":"Politics, Law & Government","url":"/browse/Politics-Law-Government"},{"title":"World History","url":"/browse/World-History"}]},{"title":{"id":6,"title":"Science & Tech","url":"/Science-Tech"},"links":[{"title":"Health & Medicine","url":"/browse/Health-Medicine"},{"title":"Science","url":"/browse/Science"},{"title":"Technology","url":"/browse/Technology"}]},{"title":{"id":3,"title":"Biographies","url":"/Biographies"},"links":[{"title":"Browse Biographies","url":"/browse/biographies"}]},{"title":{"id":1,"title":"Animals & Nature","url":"/Animals-Nature"},"links":[{"title":"Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates","url":"/browse/Birds-Reptiles-Vertebrates"},{"title":"Bugs, Mollusks & Other Invertebrates","url":"/browse/Bugs-Mollusks-Invertebrates"},{"title":"Environment","url":"/browse/Environment"},{"title":"Fossils & Geologic Time","url":"/browse/Fossil-Geologic-Time"},{"title":"Mammals","url":"/browse/Mammals"},{"title":"Plants","url":"/browse/Plants"}]},{"title":{"id":4,"title":"Geography & Travel","url":"/Geography-Travel"},"links":[{"title":"Geography & Travel","url":"/browse/Geography-Travel"}]},{"title":{"id":2,"title":"Arts & Culture","url":"/Arts-Culture"},"links":[{"title":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","url":"/browse/Entertainment-Pop-Culture"},{"title":"Literature","url":"/browse/Literature"},{"title":"Sports & Recreation","url":"/browse/Sports-Recreation"},{"title":"Visual Arts","url":"/browse/Visual-Arts"}]}],"browseByFeature":[{"title":"Companions","url":"/stories/companion"},{"title":"Demystified","url":"/stories/demystified"},{"title":"Image Galleries","url":"/gallery/browse"},{"title":"Lists","url":"/list/browse"},{"title":"Podcasts","url":"/podcasts"},{"title":"Spotlight","url":"/stories/spotlight"},{"title":"Summaries","url":"/summary"},{"title":"The Forum","url":"/stories/the-forum"},{"title":"Top Questions","url":"/question"},{"title":"#WTFact","url":"/stories/wtfact"}],"moreFromBritannica":[{"title":"Britannica Kids","url":"https://kids.britannica.com/","newTab":true}],"menuType":"DEFAULT"} </script> <header id="header" class="bg-navy-dark"> <div class="global-nav-top-bar"> <div class="grid gx-0 h-100 justify-content-between align-items-center container-lg mx-auto p-0 position-relative"> <div class="d-flex align-items-center"> <button class="d-flex align-items-center justify-self-start js-toggle js-toggle-hamburger btn btn-link link-white btn-sm rounded-0 p-10"> <div class="hamburger-tooltip"> <em class="material-icons d-inline-block font-24" id="nav-toggle" data-icon="menu"></em> </div> <em class="material-icons d-inline-block font-24 global-nav-search-icon" id="nav-search-icon" data-icon="search" ></em> </button> <a href="/" class="d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center ml-10"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel/eb-logo/MendelNewThistleLogo.png" alt="Encyclopedia Britannica" class="global-nav-logo global-nav-logo-left" /> </a> <div class="global-nav-top-search-bar global-nav-top-search-container global-nav-search-container" id="global-nav-top-search-bar"> <form method="get" action="/search" id="global-nav-search" class="md-search-form m-0 global-nav-search-bar-small"> <div class="search-box position-relative col-100"> <label class="sr-only" for="global-nav-search-query">Search Britannica</label> <input name="query" id="global-nav-search-query" placeholder="Search Britannica..." class="form-control form-control-lg rounded-lg font-16 search-query pl-20 pr-70 shadow-sm" maxlength="200" autocomplete="off" aria-label="Search Britannica" /> <button class="search-reset-btn btn btn-link px-10 position-absolute top-0 h-100 d-none" type="reset"> <em class="material-icons" data-icon="close"></em> </button> <button class="search-submit btn btn-link text-blue px-10 position-absolute top-0 right-0 h-100" type="submit" disabled> <span class="sr-only">Click here to search</span> <em class="material-icons search-icon" data-icon="search"></em> </button> </div> </form> </div> </div> <a href="/" class="d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel/eb-logo/MendelNewThistleLogo.png" alt="Encyclopedia Britannica" class="global-nav-center global-nav-logo non-homepage-logo" /> </a> <form method="get" action="/search" id="global-nav-search" class="md-search-form m-0 global-nav-search-bar-small global-nav-center search global-nav-center-search-container"> <div class="search-box position-relative col-100"> <label class="sr-only" for="global-nav-search-query">Search Britannica</label> <input name="query" id="global-nav-search-query" placeholder="Search Britannica..." class="form-control form-control-lg rounded-lg font-16 search-query pl-20 pr-70 shadow-sm" maxlength="200" autocomplete="off" aria-label="Search Britannica" /> <button class="search-reset-btn btn btn-link px-10 position-absolute top-0 h-100 d-none" type="reset"> <em class="material-icons" data-icon="close"></em> </button> <button class="search-submit btn btn-link text-blue px-10 position-absolute top-0 right-0 h-100" type="submit" disabled> <span class="sr-only">Click here to search</span> <em class="material-icons search-icon" data-icon="search"></em> </button> </div> </form> <div class="col-35 col-sm-auto text-right order-3 mr-lg-15 align-items-center d-flex justify-content-end"> <div class="d-none d-md-inline-block"> <SPAN class="marketing-HEADER_SUBSCRIPTION_DESKTOP2 marketing-content" data-marketing-id="HEADER_SUBSCRIPTION_DESKTOP2"><a href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=global-nav&utm_campaign=evergreen-cap" class="subscribe-link btn btn-sm btn-orange py-5 mr-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> SUBSCRIBE </a></SPAN></div> <div class="d-inline-block d-md-none mr-5 mr-sm-10"> <SPAN class="marketing-HEADER_SUBSCRIPTION_MOBILE marketing-content" data-marketing-id="HEADER_SUBSCRIPTION_MOBILE"><a href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=global-nav-mobile&utm_campaign=evergreen" class="subscribe-link btn btn-xs btn-orange p-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> SUBSCRIBE </a></SPAN></div> <button class="js-toggle-user-dropdown js-toggle btn btn-sm btn-link link-white rounded-0 px-md-15 pl-5 pr-5"> <span class="d-none d-md-inline-block mr-5">Login</span> <em class="material-icons d-inline-block d-md-none font-16 font-sm-20" data-icon="account_circle"></em> <div class="d-none dropdown-menu-subscription-link">https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=nav-login-box&utm_campaign=evergreen</div> <em class="material-icons inactive-icon d-inline-block font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_down"></em> <em class="material-icons active-icon d-inline-block font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_up"></em> </button> </div> </div> </div> <div class="d-none hamburger-menu-subscription-link"><DIV class="marketing-HAMBURGER_MENU_CTA marketing-content" data-marketing-id="HAMBURGER_MENU_CTA"><a href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=hamburger-menu&utm_campaign=evergreen" class="subscribe-link btn btn-sm btn-orange py-5" target="_blank"> SUBSCRIBE </a></DIV></div> <div id="global-nav-react"> <div class="d-none"> <ul> <li><a href="/">Home</a></li> <li><a href="/History-Society">History & Society</a></li> <li><a href="/Science-Tech">Science & Tech</a></li> <li><a href="/Biographies">Biographies</a></li> <li><a href="/Animals-Nature">Animals & Nature</a></li> <li><a href="/Geography-Travel">Geography & Travel</a></li> <li><a href="/Arts-Culture">Arts & Culture</a></li> <li><a href="/procon">ProCon</a></li> <li><a href="/money">Money</a></li> </ul> <ul> <li><a href="/quiz/browse">Games & Quizzes</a></li> <li><a href="/videos">Videos</a></li> <li><a href="/on-this-day">On This Day</a></li> <li><a href="/one-good-fact">One Good Fact</a></li> <li><a href="/dictionary">Dictionary</a></li> <li><a href="/new-articles">New Articles</a></li> </ul> <a href="/History-Society">History & Society</a> <ul> <li><a href="/browse/Lifestyles-Social-Issues">Lifestyles & Social Issues</a></li> <li><a href="/browse/Philosophy-Religion">Philosophy & Religion</a></li> <li><a href="/browse/Politics-Law-Government">Politics, Law & Government</a></li> <li><a href="/browse/World-History">World History</a></li> </ul> <a href="/Science-Tech">Science & Tech</a> <ul> <li><a href="/browse/Health-Medicine">Health & Medicine</a></li> <li><a href="/browse/Science">Science</a></li> <li><a href="/browse/Technology">Technology</a></li> </ul> <a href="/Biographies">Biographies</a> <ul> <li><a href="/browse/biographies">Browse Biographies</a></li> </ul> <a href="/Animals-Nature">Animals & Nature</a> <ul> <li><a href="/browse/Birds-Reptiles-Vertebrates">Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates</a></li> <li><a href="/browse/Bugs-Mollusks-Invertebrates">Bugs, Mollusks & Other Invertebrates</a></li> <li><a href="/browse/Environment">Environment</a></li> <li><a href="/browse/Fossil-Geologic-Time">Fossils & Geologic Time</a></li> <li><a href="/browse/Mammals">Mammals</a></li> <li><a href="/browse/Plants">Plants</a></li> </ul> <a href="/Geography-Travel">Geography & Travel</a> <ul> <li><a href="/browse/Geography-Travel">Geography & Travel</a></li> </ul> <a href="/Arts-Culture">Arts & Culture</a> <ul> <li><a href="/browse/Entertainment-Pop-Culture">Entertainment & Pop Culture</a></li> <li><a href="/browse/Literature">Literature</a></li> <li><a href="/browse/Sports-Recreation">Sports & Recreation</a></li> <li><a href="/browse/Visual-Arts">Visual Arts</a></li> </ul> <ul> <li><a href="/stories/companion">Companions</a></li> <li><a href="/stories/demystified">Demystified</a></li> <li><a href="/gallery/browse">Image Galleries</a></li> <li><a href="/list/browse">Lists</a></li> <li><a href="/podcasts">Podcasts</a></li> <li><a href="/stories/spotlight">Spotlight</a></li> <li><a href="/summary">Summaries</a></li> <li><a href="/stories/the-forum">The Forum</a></li> <li><a href="/question">Top Questions</a></li> <li><a href="/stories/wtfact">#WTFact</a></li> </ul> <ul> <li><a href="https://kids.britannica.com/">Britannica Kids</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </header> <div class="bg-navy-dark"> <div class="container-lg p-0 d-flex justify-content-center global-nav-categories-bar overflow-hidden"> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 global-nav-slider category-snap-slider"> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex font-14 overflow-hidden text-nowrap mx-5"> <a class="nav-bar-category mx-5 category-link-CHATBOT " href="/chatbot">Ask the Chatbot</a> <a class="nav-bar-category mx-5 category-link-QUIZZES " href="/quiz/browse">Games & Quizzes</a> <a class="nav-bar-category mx-5 category-link-HISTORY " href="/History-Society">History & Society</a> <a class="nav-bar-category mx-5 category-link-SCIENCE " href="/Science-Tech">Science & Tech</a> <a class="nav-bar-category mx-5 category-link-BIOS " href="/Biographies">Biographies</a> <a class="nav-bar-category mx-5 category-link-ANIMALS " href="/Animals-Nature">Animals & Nature</a> <a class="nav-bar-category mx-5 category-link-GEOGRAPHY " href="/Geography-Travel">Geography & Travel</a> <a class="nav-bar-category mx-5 category-link-ART selected selected" href="/Arts-Culture">Arts & Culture</a> <a class="nav-bar-category mx-5 category-link-PROCON " href="/procon">ProCon</a> <a class="nav-bar-category mx-5 category-link-MONEY " href="/money">Money</a> <a class="nav-bar-category mx-5 category-link-VIDEOS " href="/videos">Videos</a> </div> <button disabled class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Previous"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span> </button> <button disabled class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Next"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span> </button> </div> </div> </div> <main> <div class="md-page-wrapper"> <div id="content" class="md-content"> <div class="md-article-container template-desktop infinite-pagination"> <div class="infinite-scroll-container article last"> <script> Object.assign( window.Mendel.config, { "infiniteScrollList": [{"p":2,"t":600695},{"p":1,"t":284143},{"p":5,"t":1086220},{"p":1,"t":472127},{"p":1,"t":519629},{"p":1,"t":663619},{"p":1,"t":36571},{"p":1,"t":1524046},{"p":1,"t":433251},{"p":10,"t":497416}], "sequence": 1, "topics": {} }); </script> <article class="article-content container-lg qa-content px-0 pt-0 pb-40 py-lg-20 content md-expanded" data-topic-id="600695"> <div class="grid gx-0"> <div class="col-auto"> <div class="topic-left-rail md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec">Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec">Introduction</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref7343"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec#ref7343">Childhood and education</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref7344"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec#ref7344">The documenter of Montmartre</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref7345"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec/Legacy">Legacy</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec">Quick Facts & Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec/images-videos">Images</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/40/24340-050-32CF5746/Moulin-Rouge-oil-canvas-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec.jpg" data-href="/media/1/600695/14867" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/40/24340-004-892827CA/Moulin-Rouge-oil-canvas-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec.jpg" alt="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: At the Moulin Rouge" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/18/43418-004-3F9ABC77/Jane-Avril-Dancing-oil-cardboard-Henri-de-1892.jpg" data-href="/media/1/600695/35989" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/18/43418-004-3F9ABC77/Jane-Avril-Dancing-oil-cardboard-Henri-de-1892.jpg" alt="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Jane Avril Dancing" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/42/233242-050-C7E2D406/Quadrille-at-the-Moulin-Rouge-by-Henri-Toulouse-Lautrec-1901.jpg" data-href="/media/1/600695/269091" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/42/233242-004-42837098/Quadrille-at-the-Moulin-Rouge-by-Henri-Toulouse-Lautrec-1901.jpg" alt="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Quadrille at the Moulin Rouge" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/45/233245-050-5EB76F73/Lithograph-Ambassadeurs-Aristide-Bruant-by-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-1892.jpg" data-href="/media/1/600695/269092" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/45/233245-004-D96585F6/Lithograph-Ambassadeurs-Aristide-Bruant-by-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-1892.jpg" alt="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Ambassadeurs: Aristide Bruant" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/45/159945-050-0C52E2B9/Equestrienne-canvas-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-Art-Institute.jpg" data-href="/media/1/600695/235950" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/45/159945-004-F86B99C9/Equestrienne-canvas-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-Art-Institute.jpg" alt="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Equestrienne (At the Cirque Fernando)" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/06/4706-004-45A4EE13/Jane-Avril-lithograph-poster-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-1893.jpg" data-href="/media/1/600695/14866" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/06/4706-004-45A4EE13/Jane-Avril-lithograph-poster-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-1893.jpg" alt="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Jane Avril" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/37/211837-050-9C9328FF/Cancan-La-Troupe-Mademoiselle-Eglantine-Henri-Toulouse-Laurtrec-lithograph-1896-Metropolitan-Museum-Art.jpg" data-href="/media/1/600695/243152" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/37/211837-004-23D605B0/Cancan-La-Troupe-Mademoiselle-Eglantine-Henri-Toulouse-Laurtrec-lithograph-1896-Metropolitan-Museum-Art.jpg" alt="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: La Troupe de Mademoiselle Eglantine" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/37/182537-050-7634DDC3/Divan-Japonais-poster-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-Los.jpg" data-href="/media/1/600695/235951" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/37/182537-004-0C4D821A/Divan-Japonais-poster-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-Los.jpg" alt="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Divan Japonais" height="50" /> </a> </div> <button disabled class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Previous"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span> </button> <button disabled class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Next"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span> </button> </div> </div> <div class="mb-30 tlr-student-links"> <div class="text-gray-900 p-5 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-10 mb-10"> For Students </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/summary/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/images/shared/default3.png?v=3.133.9" class="default " height="200" width="200"/> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/summary/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec" >Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec summary</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mb-30 tlr-related-quizzes"> <div class="text-gray-900 p-5 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-10 mb-10"> Quizzes </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/quiz/ultimate-art-quiz"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/74/129374-131-833AE3CF/Chalk.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Color pastels, colored chalk, colorful chalk. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, history and society" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/quiz/ultimate-art-quiz" >Ultimate Art Quiz</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/quiz/artists-painters-architects"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/85/151885-131-F94726A4/Close-up-man-palette-color-mixing-paint-painting.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Close-up of a palette held by a man. Mixing paint, painting, color mixing." width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/quiz/artists-painters-architects" >Artists, Painters, & Architects</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/quiz/can-you-match-these-lesser-known-paintings-to-their-artists"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/13/229013-131-CF011E83/Tate-Modern-Switch-House-London-England.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Tate Modern extension Switch House, London, England. (Tavatnik, museums). Photo dated 2017." width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/quiz/can-you-match-these-lesser-known-paintings-to-their-artists" >Can You Match These Lesser-Known Paintings to Their Artists?</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/quiz/who-painted-the-most-expensive-paintings-in-the-world"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/32/91732-131-E8BF5F79/The-Birth-of-Venus-canvas-Sandro-Botticelli.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt=""The Birth of Venus," tempera on canvas by Sandro Botticelli, c. 1485; in the Uffizi, Florence." width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/quiz/who-painted-the-most-expensive-paintings-in-the-world" >Who Painted the Most Expensive Paintings in the World?</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mb-30 tlr-read-next"> <div class="text-gray-900 p-5 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-10 mb-10"> Read Next </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/list/25-famous-paintings-to-see-the-next-time-youre-in-florence"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/67/215467-131-5A200489/Aerial-view-dome-Cathedral-Santa-Maria-del-Fiore-Florence-Italy.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Aerial view of Florence (Firenze), Italy from the campanile of the Duomo, with the gigantic dome (designed by Filippo Brunelleschi) in the foreground. Unidentifiable tourists are visible on top of the dome, which provide a measure of the building s scale." width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/list/25-famous-paintings-to-see-the-next-time-youre-in-florence" >25 Famous Paintings to See the Next Time You’re in Florence</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/list/art-history-the-origins-of-7-of-your-favorite-art-supplies"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/35/179035-131-9646BA4D/Oil-paints-consistency-paste-variety-colors-brushes.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Painting palette with oil paints and brushes. Rainbow colored paints, arts and entertainment" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/list/art-history-the-origins-of-7-of-your-favorite-art-supplies" >Art History: The Origins of 7 of Your Favorite Art Supplies</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/list/14-significant-paintings-at-nationalmuseum-in-stockholm"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/02/220302-131-3BE40348/National-Museum-Fine-Arts-Stockholm-Sweden.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="National Museum of Fine Arts. National museum building located on peninsula Blasieholmen in city centre with near Lake Malaren channel view from old town quarter Gamla Stan, Stockholm, Sweden" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/list/14-significant-paintings-at-nationalmuseum-in-stockholm" >14 Significant Paintings at Nationalmuseum in Sweden </a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/list/7-tongue-twisting-painting-techniques"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/75/129375-131-D6125FA8/painting-blog-history-entertainment-Jackson-Pollock-Hompepage-2009.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Colorful abstract painting. Contemporary painting. Not a Jackson Pollock. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, history and society" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/list/7-tongue-twisting-painting-techniques" >7 Tongue-Twisting Painting Techniques</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/list/six-contemporary-artists-who-redefined-their-mediums"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/44/227644-131-BF36FC1A/blank-canvas-artists-studio.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Blank canvas in an artist's studio. Art; oil paints; brushes; artists' tools" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/list/six-contemporary-artists-who-redefined-their-mediums" >6 Contemporary Artists Who Redefined Their Mediums</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mb-30 tlr-discover"> <div class="text-gray-900 p-5 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-10 mb-10"> Discover </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/story/timeline-of-the-titanics-final-hours"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/92/231192-131-AEEB4C61/infographic-Titanic.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Titanic infographic. The 30th anniversary of its discovery is September 1, 2015. SPOTLIGHT VERSION." width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/story/timeline-of-the-titanics-final-hours" >Timeline of the <em>Titanic</em>’s Final Hours</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/list/inventors-and-inventions-of-the-industrial-revolution"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/34/193634-131-F5FF783D/factories-Industrial-Revolution-workers-house-machines.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="A Factory Interior, watercolor, pen and gray ink, graphite, and white goache on wove paper by unknown artist, c. 1871-91; in the Yale Center for British Art. Industrial Revolution England" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/list/inventors-and-inventions-of-the-industrial-revolution" >Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/story/was-jesse-owens-snubbed-by-adolf-hitler-at-the-berlin-olympics"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/51/189351-131-104BA669/Jesse-Owens-Olympic-Games-1936.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Berlin, 1936 - Jesse Owens of the USA in action in the mens 200m at the Summer Olympic Games. Owens won a total of four gold medals." width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/story/was-jesse-owens-snubbed-by-adolf-hitler-at-the-berlin-olympics" >Was Jesse Owens Snubbed by Adolf Hitler at the Berlin Olympics?</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/story/who-really-invented-baseball"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/53/212553-131-B8C3D5AF/Baseball-bat.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="An old worn baseball and wood bat" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/story/who-really-invented-baseball" >Who Really Invented Baseball?</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/story/nikola-teslas-weird-obsession-with-pigeons"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/13/173513-131-C6E1BD52/mourning-dove-North-America.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="bird. mourning dove. pigeon and dove. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) family Columbidae." width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/story/nikola-teslas-weird-obsession-with-pigeons" >Nikola Tesla's Weird Obsession with Pigeons</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/story/why-do-some-people-call-football-soccer"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/51/190751-131-B431C216/soccer-ball-goal.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="soccer ball in the goal" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/story/why-do-some-people-call-football-soccer" >Why Do Some People Call Football “Soccer”?</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/list/10-democrats-who-made-history"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/164789-131-D3197AD4/Barack-Obama-2012.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="United States Presidential Election of 2012. Mitt Romney. Official portrait of President Barack Obama in the Oval Office, Dec. 6, 2012 after his reelection Nov. 6, 2012. Official portrait Obama" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/list/10-democrats-who-made-history" >10 Democrats Who Made History</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <button class="drawerToggle btn position-sticky border btn-xs btn-white btn-circle rounded-sm d-none d-lg-flex " type="button" aria-label="Toggle Drawer"> <em class="material-icons font-18 text-blue" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="h-100 ml-0 pr-lg-0 "> <div class="h-100 grid gx-0 gx-lg-20"> <div class="h-100 col-sm"> <div class="h-100 infinite-pagination-container d-flex flex-column position-relative"> <div class="position-absolute top-0 h-100 w-100"> <div class="toc-sticky-header d-none d-lg-none bg-gray-50 px-10 px-sm-30 position-sticky w-100 "> <div class="toc-sticky-header-inner-container align-items-center d-flex mx-auto h-100 w-100"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-sm btn-white text-blue border-2 border-gray-100 gtm-mobile-toc-header-button js-sections-button d-lg-none p-10"> <em class="material-icons my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Contents </button> <div class="header-ai-ask-button-placeholder"></div> <div class="header-ai-summarize-button-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="grey-box w-100 grey-box-top"> <div class="grey-box-content mx-auto w-100"> <script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement" : [ { "@type" : "ListItem", "position" : 1, "item" : { "@id" : "https://www.britannica.com/browse/Visual-Arts", "name": "Visual Arts" } } , { "@type" : "ListItem", "position" : 2, "item" : { "@id" : "https://www.britannica.com/browse/Painting", "name": "Painting" } } , { "@type" : "ListItem", "position" : 3, "item" : { "@id" : "https://www.britannica.com/browse/Painters", "name": "Painters" } } ] } </script> <nav class="breadcrumb mt-20"> <span class="breadcrumb-item "> <a class="link-gray-600" href="/browse/Visual-Arts">Visual Arts</a> </span> <span class="breadcrumb-item "> <a class="link-gray-600" href="/browse/Painting">Painting</a> </span> <span class="breadcrumb-item "> <a class="link-gray-600" href="/browse/Painters">Painters</a> </span> </nav> <div class="page2ref-true topic-content topic-type-BIOGRAPHY" data-student-article="false"> <script class="page-description-json" type="application/json"> { "url": "/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec", "shareUrl": "https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec", "browserTitle": "Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec | Biography, Artwork, Paintings, Moulin Rouge, & Facts", "firstTopicPage": true, "topicId":600695 } </script> <div class="reading-channel"> <div class="desktop-header-image module-spacing"> <figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-20 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="13684" data-asm-type="image"> <div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"> <a style="min-height: 160px;" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/40/24340-050-32CF5746/Moulin-Rouge-oil-canvas-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/600695/14867"> <picture> <source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/40/24340-050-32CF5746/Moulin-Rouge-oil-canvas-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec.jpg?w=300"> <img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/40/24340-050-32CF5746/Moulin-Rouge-oil-canvas-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec.jpg?w=400&h=300&c=crop" alt="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: At the Moulin Rouge" loading="eager" /> </picture> <button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"> <em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em> </button> </a> </div> <figcaption class="card-body"> <div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"> <span> <a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/40/24340-050-32CF5746/Moulin-Rouge-oil-canvas-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec.jpg" data-href="/media/1/600695/14867">Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: <em>At the Moulin Rouge</em></a> <span><span><em>At the Moulin Rouge</em>, oil on canvas by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1892–95; in the Art Institute of Chicago.</span></span> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <span class="link-blue">(more)</span> </button> </span> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </div><div class="topic-header"> <div class="d-flex align-items-top justify-content-between"> <div class="d-flex flex-column"> <div> <div> <h1>Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec</h1></div> </div> <div class="topic-identifier font-16 font-md-20">French artist</div> </div> </div> <div class="d-none d-sm-flex flex-row"> <div class="mr-10 mb-15"> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="d-block md-topic-tools qa-action-buttons mb-15" data-topic-id="600695"> <button class="js-tooltip btn btn-sm btn-outline-blue border pr-10 border-2 text-nowrap" > <em class="material-icons md-icon ml-n10 my-n5 mr-5" data-icon="more_vert"></em> More Actions </button> <div class="md-more-popover popover popover-sm p-0 font-14 z-1"> <div> <button class="js-print-modal-button js-modal gtm-topic-tool btn btn-sm btn-link gtm-topic-tool font-weight-bold btn-link" data-modal="[data-topic-id=600695] .md-print-modal" > <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="print"></em> Print </button> <div class="md-print-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif d-flex align-items-center pb-15 border-bottom"> <em class="material-icons text-blue mr-10">print</em> Print </div> <div class="mt-20 mb-10"> Please select which sections you would like to print: </div> <form action="/print/article/600695" method="post" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <div class="print-box-items"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li><label><input class="mr-10" type="checkbox" name="sequence[]" value="0">Table Of Contents</label></li> </ul> </div> <input type="submit" class="btn btn-blue md-disabled" value="Print" /> </form> </div> </div> </div> <div> <button class="js-modal qa-cite-modal-button btn btn-sm btn-link gtm-topic-tool font-weight-bold btn-link" data-modal="[data-topic-id=600695] .md-cite-modal"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="verified"></em> Cite </button> <div class="md-cite-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif d-flex align-items-center pb-15 border-bottom mb-15"> <em class="material-icons text-blue mr-10">verified</em>Cite </div> <div class="font-serif"> While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. </div> <div class="label mt-20 mb-10">Select Citation Style</div> <select class="js-citation-format-select form-select"> <option selected value="mla">MLA</option> <option value="apa">APA</option> <option value="chicago">Chicago Manual of Style</option> </select> <div class="citation font-serif border rounded p-15 mt-20" data-authors="Birnholz, Alan Curtis" data-authors-initial="Birnholz, A.C." data-title="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec" data-published-date="17 Jan. 2025" data-url="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec" > <div class="citation-text"></div> </div> <button class="js-copy-citation-button mt-20 btn btn-xs btn-outline-blue border shadow-sm pr-10" > <em class="material-icons md-icon ml-n10 my-n5 mr-5" data-icon="file_copy"></em> <span class="js-citation-status-text">Copy Citation</span> </button> </div> </div> </div> <div> <button class="js-share-modal-button js-modal btn btn-sm btn-link gtm-topic-tool font-weight-bold btn-link" data-modal="[data-topic-id=600695] .md-share-modal"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="share"></em> Share </button> <div class="md-share-modal size-lg d-none qa-share-modal"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif d-flex align-items-center pb-15 border-bottom"> <em class="material-icons text-blue mr-10" data-icon="share"></em> Share </div> <div class="label my-20">Share to social media</div> <div class="md-social-toolbar-circle d-flex align-items-start inverted" data-value="share" title="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec" data-url="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec" > <a class="social-icon facebook justify-content-center d-flex align-items-center align-self-center" data-provider="facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/BRITANNICA/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span>Facebook</span></a> <a class="social-icon x justify-content-center d-flex align-items-center align-self-center" data-provider="x" href="https://x.com/britannica" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span>X</span></a> </div> <div class="label pt-20 mt-20 mb-5 border-top">URL</div> <a class="font-serif text-truncate d-inline-block" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec">https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec</a> </div> </div> </div> <div> <button class="js-feedback-modal-button js-modal btn btn-sm btn-link gtm-topic-tool font-weight-bold btn-link" data-modal=".md-feedback-modal"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="message"></em> Feedback </button> </div> <div> <button class="qa-external-website-modal-button js-modal btn btn-sm btn-link gtm-topic-tool font-weight-bold btn-link" data-modal="[data-topic-id=600695] .md-websites-modal"> <em class="material-icons md-icon ml-n10 mr-5" data-icon="link"></em> External Websites </button> </div> </div> <div class="md-feedback-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom"> Feedback </div> <form method="post" action="/submission/feedback/600695"> <div class="my-20"> Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> <div class="pb-20"> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-20 lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://artuk.org/discover/artists/de-toulouse-lautrec-henri-18641901" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Art UK - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.artnet.com/artists/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Artnet - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/t/toulouse/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Web Gallery of Art - Biography of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/laut/hd_laut.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">The Met - Biography of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Guggenheim Museums - Biography of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1935.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">National Gallery of Art - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.theartstory.org/artist/toulouse-lautrec-henri/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">TheArtStory - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.toulouse-lautrec-foundation.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Official Site of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://artincontext.org/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Art in Context - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Chronicler of Parisian Nightlife</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-title">Britannica Websites</div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-subtitle">Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.</div> <ul class="list-unstyled bps-topic-web-sites lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec/277398" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 js-header-ai-ask-button d-none btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="caption alternate-titles">Also known as: Henri-Marie-Raymonde de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa</div> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Alan-Curtis-Birnholz/286" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Alan Curtis Birnholz</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Associate Professor of Art History, State University of New York at Buffalo.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Alan Curtis Birnholz</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2025-01-17T00:00:00CST" >Jan 17, 2025</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="qf-title font-weight-bold font-14 mb-10 text-center"> Quick Facts</div> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>In full: </dt> <dd>Henri-Marie-Raymonde de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Born: </dt> <dd>November 24, 1864, <a href="/place/Albi">Albi</a>, <a href="/place/France">France</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Died: </dt> <dd>September 9, 1901, Malromé (aged 36)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Notable Works: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/At-the-Salon">“At the Salon”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Elles">“Elles”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Moulin-Rouge-La-Goulue-painting-by-Toulouse-Lautrec">“Moulin Rouge-La Goulue”</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Movement / Style: </dt> <dd><a href="/art/Post-Impressionism">Post-Impressionism</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>On the Web: </dt> <dd><a href="https://artuk.org/discover/artists/de-toulouse-lautrec-henri-18641901" target="_blank">Art UK - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec</a> (Jan. 17, 2025)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> <button class="facts-list-show-more-btn mt-15 p-0 mx-auto btn font-14 d-block font-weight-normal"> <span class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></span> <span class="show-more-label">Show More</span> </button> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref76148"></span>Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec</strong> (born November 24, 1864, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Albi" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Albi</a>, France—died September 9, 1901, Malromé) was a French artist who observed and documented with great psychological insight the personalities and facets of Parisian nightlife and the French world of entertainment in the 1890s. His use of free-flowing expressive line, often becoming pure arabesque, resulted in highly rhythmical <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="compositions" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compositions" data-type="MW">compositions</a> (e.g., <em>In the Circus Fernando: The Ringmaster</em>, 1888). The extreme simplification in outline and movement and the use of large color areas make his posters some of his most powerful works.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref7343"> <h2 class="h1">Childhood and education</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Toulouse-Lautrec’s family was wealthy and had a lineage that extended without interruption back to the time of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charlemagne" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Charlemagne</a>. He grew up amid his family’s typically aristocratic love of sport and art. Most of the boy’s time was spent at the Château du Bosc, one of the family estates located near Albi. Henri’s grandfather, father, and uncle were all talented draftsmen, and thus it was hardly surprising that Henri began sketching at the age of 10. His interest in art grew as a result of his being incapacitated in 1878 by an accident in which he broke his left <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/femur" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">thighbone</a>. His right thighbone was fractured a little more than a year later in a second <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="mishap" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/mishap" data-type="EB">mishap</a>. These accidents, requiring extensive periods of convalescence and often painful treatments, left his legs atrophied and made walking most difficult. As a result, Toulouse-Lautrec devoted ever greater periods to art in order to pass away the frequently lonely hours.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Toulouse-Lautrec’s first visit to Paris occurred in 1872, when he enrolled in the Lycée Fontanes (now Lycée Condorcet). He gradually moved on to private tutors, and it was only after he had passed the baccalaureate examinations, in 1881, that he resolved to become an artist.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">His first professional teacher in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/painting" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">painting</a> was <span id="ref76149"></span>René Princeteau, a friend of the Lautrec family. Princeteau’s fame, such as it was, arose from his depiction of military and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="equestrian" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/equestrian" data-type="EB">equestrian</a> subjects, done in a 19th-century academic style. Though Toulouse-Lautrec got on well with Princeteau, he moved on to the atelier of <span id="ref76150"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leon-Bonnat" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Léon Bonnat</a> at the end of 1882. In Bonnat, Toulouse-Lautrec encountered an artist who fought vehemently against deviation from academic rules, condemned the slapdash approach of the<span id="ref76151"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Impressionism-art" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"> Impressionists</a>, and judged Toulouse-Lautrec’s <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/drawing-art" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">drawing</a> “atrocious.” His work received a more positive reaction in 1883, when he joined the studio of <span id="ref76152"></span>Fernand Cormon.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Artists-Mistaken-for-Impressionists" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">(<em>Impressionist or not? Find out in our list of</em> Artists Mistaken for Impressionists.)</a></p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/who-painted-the-most-expensive-paintings-in-the-world" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/32/91732-131-E8BF5F79/The-Birth-of-Venus-canvas-Sandro-Botticelli.jpg" alt=""The Birth of Venus," tempera on canvas by Sandro Botticelli, c. 1485; in the Uffizi, Florence." class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Who Painted the Most Expensive Paintings in the World?</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In the early 1880s, Cormon enjoyed a moment of celebrity, and his studio attracted such artists as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vincent-van-Gogh" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Vincent van Gogh</a> and the Symbolist painter <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Emile-Bernard" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Émile Bernard</a>. Cormon gave Toulouse-Lautrec much freedom in developing a personal style. That Cormon approved of his pupil’s work is proved by his choosing Toulouse-Lautrec to assist him in illustrating the definitive edition of the works of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Victor-Hugo" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Victor Hugo</a>. In the end, however, Toulouse-Lautrec’s drawings for this project were not used.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Despite this approval, Toulouse-Lautrec found the atmosphere at Cormon’s studio increasingly restrictive. “Cormon’s corrections are much kinder than Bonnat’s were,” he wrote his uncle Charles on February 18, 1883. “He looks at everything you show him and encourages one steadily. It might surprise you, but I don’t like that so much. You see, the lashing of my former master pepped me up, and I didn’t spare myself.” The academic <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="regimen" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/regimen" data-type="MW">regimen</a> of copying became insufferable. He made “a great effort to copy the model exactly,” one of his friends later recalled, “but in spite of himself he exaggerated certain details, sometimes the general character, so that he distorted without trying or even wanting to.” Soon Toulouse-Lautrec’s attendance at the studio became infrequent at best. He then rented his own studio in the <span id="ref76153"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Montmartre" class="md-crosslink ">Montmartre</a> district of Paris and concerned himself, for the most part, with doing portraits of his friends.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=august-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="marker h3"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref7344"> <h2 class="h1">The documenter of Montmartre</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="35989" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/18/43418-004-3F9ABC77/Jane-Avril-Dancing-oil-cardboard-Henri-de-1892.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/600695/35989"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/18/43418-004-3F9ABC77/Jane-Avril-Dancing-oil-cardboard-Henri-de-1892.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/18/43418-004-3F9ABC77/Jane-Avril-Dancing-oil-cardboard-Henri-de-1892.jpg?w=300" alt="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Jane Avril Dancing" data-width="235" data-height="450" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">1 of 2</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/18/43418-004-3F9ABC77/Jane-Avril-Dancing-oil-cardboard-Henri-de-1892.jpg" data-href="/media/1/600695/35989">Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: <em>Jane Avril Dancing</em></a><span><em>Jane Avril Dancing</em>, oil on cardboard by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1892; in the Louvre Museum, Paris.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="269091" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/42/233242-050-C7E2D406/Quadrille-at-the-Moulin-Rouge-by-Henri-Toulouse-Lautrec-1901.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/600695/269091"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/42/233242-050-C7E2D406/Quadrille-at-the-Moulin-Rouge-by-Henri-Toulouse-Lautrec-1901.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/42/233242-050-C7E2D406/Quadrille-at-the-Moulin-Rouge-by-Henri-Toulouse-Lautrec-1901.jpg?w=300" alt="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Quadrille at the Moulin Rouge" data-width="1188" data-height="1600" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">2 of 2</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/42/233242-050-C7E2D406/Quadrille-at-the-Moulin-Rouge-by-Henri-Toulouse-Lautrec-1901.jpg" data-href="/media/1/600695/269091">Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: <em>Quadrille at the Moulin Rouge</em></a><span><em>Quadrille at the Moulin Rouge</em>, oil on cardboard by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1892; in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Thus it was that in the mid-1880s Toulouse-Lautrec began his lifelong association with the bohemian life of Montmartre. The cafés, cabarets, entertainers, and artists of this area of Paris fascinated him and led to his first taste of public recognition. He focused his attention on depicting popular entertainers such as <span id="ref76154"></span>Aristide Bruant, Jane Avril, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Loie-Fuller" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Loie Fuller</a>, May Belfort, May Milton, Valentin le Désossé, Louise Weber (known as La Goulue [“the Glutton”]), and clowns such as Cha-U-Kao and Chocolat.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="269092" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/45/233245-050-5EB76F73/Lithograph-Ambassadeurs-Aristide-Bruant-by-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-1892.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/600695/269092"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/45/233245-050-5EB76F73/Lithograph-Ambassadeurs-Aristide-Bruant-by-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-1892.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/45/233245-050-5EB76F73/Lithograph-Ambassadeurs-Aristide-Bruant-by-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-1892.jpg?w=300" alt="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Ambassadeurs: Aristide Bruant" data-width="1102" data-height="1600" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/45/233245-050-5EB76F73/Lithograph-Ambassadeurs-Aristide-Bruant-by-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-1892.jpg" data-href="/media/1/600695/269092">Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: <em>Ambassadeurs: Aristide Bruant</em></a><span><em>Ambassadeurs: Aristide Bruant</em>, lithograph by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1892; in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">In 1884 Toulouse-Lautrec made the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="acquaintance" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/acquaintance" data-type="EB">acquaintance</a> of Bruant, a singer and composer who owned a cabaret called the Mirliton. Impressed by his work, Bruant asked him to prepare illustrations for his songs and offered the Mirliton as a place where Toulouse-Lautrec could exhibit his works. By this means and through reproductions of his drawings in Bruant’s magazine <em>Mirliton</em>, he became known in Montmartre and started to receive commissions.</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="235950" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/45/159945-050-0C52E2B9/Equestrienne-canvas-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-Art-Institute.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/600695/235950"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/45/159945-050-0C52E2B9/Equestrienne-canvas-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-Art-Institute.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/45/159945-050-0C52E2B9/Equestrienne-canvas-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-Art-Institute.jpg?w=300" alt="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Equestrienne (At the Cirque Fernando)" data-width="1600" data-height="1007" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/45/159945-050-0C52E2B9/Equestrienne-canvas-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-Art-Institute.jpg" data-href="/media/1/600695/235950">Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: <em>Equestrienne (At the Cirque Fernando)</em></a><span><em>Equestrienne (At the Cirque Fernando)</em>, oil on canvas by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1887/88; in the Art Institute of Chicago. 100.3 × 161.3 cm.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Toulouse-Lautrec sought to capture the effect of the movement of the figure through wholly original means. For example, his contemporary <span id="ref76155"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edgar-Degas" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Edgar Degas</a> (whose works, along with Japanese prints, were a principal influence on him) expressed movement by carefully rendering the anatomical structure of several closely grouped figures, attempting in this way to depict but one figure, caught at successive moments in time. Toulouse-Lautrec, on the other hand, employed freely handled line and color that in themselves conveyed the idea of movement. Lines were no longer bound to what was anatomically correct; colors were intense and in their <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="juxtapositions" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/juxtapositions" data-type="MW">juxtapositions</a> generated a pulsating rhythm; laws of perspective were violated in order to place figures in an active, unstable relationship with their surroundings. A common device of Toulouse-Lautrec was to compose the figures so that their legs were not visible. Though this characteristic has been interpreted as the artist’s reaction to his own atrophied legs, in fact the treatment eliminated specific movement, which could then be replaced by the essence of movement. The result was an art throbbing with life and energy, that in its formal abstraction and overall two-dimensionality presaged the turn to schools of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Fauvism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Fauvism</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Cubism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Cubism</a> in the first decade of the 20th century.</p><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD11 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="14866" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/06/4706-004-45A4EE13/Jane-Avril-lithograph-poster-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-1893.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/600695/14866"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/06/4706-004-45A4EE13/Jane-Avril-lithograph-poster-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-1893.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/06/4706-004-45A4EE13/Jane-Avril-lithograph-poster-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-1893.jpg?w=300" alt="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Jane Avril" data-width="215" data-height="300" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">1 of 2</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/06/4706-004-45A4EE13/Jane-Avril-lithograph-poster-Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec-1893.jpg" data-href="/media/1/600695/14866">Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: <em>Jane Avril</em></a><span><em>Jane Avril</em>, lithograph poster by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1893; in the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum, Albi, France.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="243152" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/37/211837-050-9C9328FF/Cancan-La-Troupe-Mademoiselle-Eglantine-Henri-Toulouse-Laurtrec-lithograph-1896-Metropolitan-Museum-Art.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/600695/243152"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/37/211837-050-9C9328FF/Cancan-La-Troupe-Mademoiselle-Eglantine-Henri-Toulouse-Laurtrec-lithograph-1896-Metropolitan-Museum-Art.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/37/211837-050-9C9328FF/Cancan-La-Troupe-Mademoiselle-Eglantine-Henri-Toulouse-Laurtrec-lithograph-1896-Metropolitan-Museum-Art.jpg?w=300" alt="Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: La Troupe de Mademoiselle Eglantine" data-width="1383" data-height="1072" loading="eager"></picture><div class="position-absolute top-10 left-10 assembly-slide-tag rounded-lg">2 of 2</div><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/37/211837-050-9C9328FF/Cancan-La-Troupe-Mademoiselle-Eglantine-Henri-Toulouse-Laurtrec-lithograph-1896-Metropolitan-Museum-Art.jpg" data-href="/media/1/600695/243152">Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: <em>La Troupe de Mademoiselle Eglantine</em></a><span><em>La Troupe de Mademoiselle Eglantine</em>, lithograph by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1896; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph">The originality of Toulouse-Lautrec also emerged in his <span id="ref76156"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/poster" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">posters</a>. Rejecting the notion of high art, done in the traditional medium of oil on canvas, Toulouse-Lautrec in 1891 did his first <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/poster" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">poster</a>, <em><span id="ref76157"></span>Moulin Rouge—La Goulue</em>. This poster won Toulouse-Lautrec increasing fame. “My poster is pasted today on the walls of Paris,” the artist proudly declared. It was one of more than 30 he would create in the 10 years before his death. Posters afforded Toulouse-Lautrec the possibility of a widespread impact for his art, no longer restricted by the limitations of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/easel-painting" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">easel painting</a>. They also <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="enhanced" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enhanced" data-type="MW">enhanced</a> the success he had enjoyed in the preceding year when his works were shown in Brussels at the Exposition des XX (the Twenty), an avant-garde association, and in Paris at the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Salon-des-Independants" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Salon des Indépendants</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD11 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD12 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Toulouse-Lautrec is most important for his success in going beyond a representation of superficial reality to a profound insight into the psychological makeup of his subjects. He turned to the <span id="ref76158"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/lithography#ref4234" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">lithograph</a> after 1892 as a medium well suited to this goal. Among more than 300 lithographs produced in the final decade of his life were an album of 11 prints titled <em>Le Café Concert</em> (1893); 16 lithographs of the entertainer <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yvette-Guilbert" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Yvette Guilbert</a> (1894); and a series of 22 illustrations for <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jules-Renard" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jules Renard</a>’s <em>Les Histoires naturelles</em> (1899). But none of these works is more significant than <em><span id="ref76159"></span>Elles</em>, a series done in 1896, presenting a sensitive portrayal of brothel life. Toulouse-Lautrec spent lengthy periods observing the actions and behavior of prostitutes and their clients. The resulting 11 works revealed these individuals as human beings, with some of the same strengths and many of the weaknesses of other members of society. A masterpiece of this <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="genre" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genre" data-type="MW">genre</a> is <em>Au salon de la rue des Moulins</em> (<em><span id="ref76160"></span>At the Salon</em>). This painting evokes sympathy from the spectator as he observes the women’s isolation and loneliness, qualities which the young Toulouse-Lautrec had so often experienced himself. <em>At the Salon</em> is a brilliant demonstration, therefore, of his stated desire to “depict the true and not the ideal,” in which truth is based not on a careful representation of detail but rather on capturing, in a few brief brushstrokes, the essential nature of a subject.</p><span class="marker MOD12 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD13 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The appearance of <em>Elles</em> coincided with a growing deterioration in his physical and mental condition. Toulouse-Lautrec’s figure, even among the great human <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="diversity" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diversity" data-type="MW">diversity</a> found in Montmartre, remained unmistakable. Not quite five feet one inch tall, his size seemed further diminished because of his practice of associating with unusually tall men, such as his fellow students Maxime Dethomas and Louis Anquetin and his cousin and close friend Gabriel Tapié de Céleyran. His frequently <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="ironic" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ironic" data-type="MW">ironic</a> tone failed to mask a fundamental dislike of his physical appearance, and his letters contain many <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="derogatory" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/derogatory" data-type="MW">derogatory</a> remarks about his body and references to an increasing number of ailments, including <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/syphilis" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">syphilis</a>. Drinking heavily in the late 1890s, when he reputedly helped popularize the cocktail, he suffered a mental collapse at the beginning of 1899. The immediate cause was the sudden unexplained departure of his mother from Paris on January 3. He was always close to his family, particularly to his mother, who had always supported his ambitions, and he interpreted her leaving as a betrayal. The effect on his weakened system was severe, and he was committed shortly thereafter to a sanatorium in Neuilly-sur-Seine. This decision was made by the artist’s mother, against the advice of relatives and friends of the artist, in the hope of <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="avoiding" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/avoiding" data-type="EB">avoiding</a> a scandal.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD13 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD14 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Toulouse-Lautrec remained formally committed until March 31, 1899, though he chose to stay on at the sanatorium until mid-May. While there he was able to demonstrate his lucidity and power of memory by preparing a number of works on the theme of the circus. These works, however, lack the force and intensity of his earlier compositions. In the spring of 1900 he started drinking heavily again. Less than three months before his 37th birthday, he died at Château de Malromé.</p><span class="marker MOD14 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":2,"pageId":600695,"pageLength":1659,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.9"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.9' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"BIO_PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

CINXE.COM

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec | Biography, Artwork, Paintings, Moulin Rouge, & Facts | Britannica