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ART HISTORY 4450 Post-Impressionism: Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) •
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biography: – heir of aristocratic family dating back 1K yrs • descendants of Counts of Toulouse and Lautrec and Viscounts of Montfa – as child, weak & sick • Comte and Comtesse themselves first cousins • broken legs during adolescence – created body trunk of normal size but abnormally short legs (only 4 1/2 feet tall) setting: Montmartre – center of activity during the Paris Commune (1871) – center of Parisian cabaret and bohemian life until WWI subject matter: licentiousness – dance halls/nightclubs – prostitutes/brothel scenes
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Toulouse-Lautrec •
Moulin Rouge (1891) – –
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medium: lithographic poster subject: “Moulin Rouge” • opened in 1889 • combined cabaret and dance hall • soon became center of night life in Montmartre cabaret/masked ball • scandalous “can can” dance • first time specific “stars” used to advertise entertainment innovation: repetition of words aesthetic: see Japonisme’s vertical orientation forms: abstracted • bold linearity • silhouetted • flattened volumes composition: dynamic perspective: linear color: muted
Toulouse-Lautrec
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Reine de Joie – – –
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(1892)
medium: lithographic poster title: “The Queen of Joy” function: designed to publicize Victor Joze's notorious novel of lust and prostitution • title page of Fin de Siècle issue of June 4, 1892, as an advertisement significance: despite commercial purpose, one of T-L's first posters to receive critical attention as work of art narrative: tradition of ill-matched pair • woman heroine – young, sensuous – gold-digging – planting a kiss on cheek • man fool – old and lecherous – fat banker visual pun: vessels bawdy allusion to female body
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Toulouse-Lautrec’s At the Moulin Rouge (1892-95)
Toulouse-Lautrec •
La Goulue arriving at MR (1892) – –
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nickname: refers to draining glasses dry biography: provincial girl from Alsace • brought up by laundress mother • at sixteen, took job in laundry is described in Zola's L'Assommoir • fell in love w/ Renoir, posed nude for many artists career: appeared @ MR opening • danced chahut (form of Can Can) • earned 800 francs/month, not counting touring fees 1895: announced her departure from MR • set up own businesses that failed • fall as spectacular as her rise – alcoholic, homeless, – 1925: found toothless – 1928: returned to Montmartre – 1929: died; told priest she was "La Goulue"
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Toulouse-Lautrec
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Two Women Waltzing (1892) – – – –
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setting: Moulin Rouge narrative: risque morality forms: strong linear quality composition: synthetic • dynamic thrust combined w/ strong horizontals & verticals color: • zones of unmodulated, muted primaries and secondaries • combined w/ vibrant red accents that unites composition light/shadow: obviated brushwork: sketchy passages combined w/ smooth, academic handling
Toulouse-Lautrec •
The Medical Inspection (1894) –
context: prostitution • Victor Hugo (1802-1885) – sympathetic portrayal – equated w/ slavery – prostitute as “fallen woman” who is still, essentially, morally good • Balzac (1799-1850) – not forced by economic conditions – decadent, pampered, greedy, materialistic, without morals – using beauty/feminine wiles for commercial advantage – detriment to bourgeoisie society which they prey upon
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Toulouse-Lautrec’s Two Girlfriends (1894-95)
(Left) TOULOUSE-LAUTREC’s Two Girlfriends (1894-95) vs. (right) COURBET’s Realist Sleep (c. 1865)
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Toulouse-Lautrec’s Alone (1896)
(Left) Toulouse-Lautrec’s Post-Impressionist Toilette (1896) vs. (right) Degas’ Impressionist Woman Combing Her Hair (1886)
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IMAGE INDEX • •
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Photograph of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, Henri. Moulin Rouge (1891), Lithograph in four colors, 75 x 46 in., Printed across three sheets of paper, Private collection. TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, Henri. Reine de Joie par Victor Joze (1892), Lithograph in four colors, 58 5/8 x 38 3/8 in., printed across two sheets of paper, San Diego Museum of Art, CA. TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, Henri. At the Moulin Rouge (1892-95), Oil on canvas, 123 x 141 cm, Art Institute of Chicago. TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, Henri. La Goulue arriving at the Moulin Rouge (1892), Oil on canvas, 79.4 x 59 cm, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York. TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, Henri. At the Moulin Rouge: Two Women Waltzing (1892), Oil on cardboard, 93 x 80 cm, Narodni Galerie, Prague, Czech Republic.
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TOULOUSE-LAUTREC. Rue des Moulins: The Medical Inspection (1894), Oil on cardboard, 82 x 59.5 cm., National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, Henri. The Two Girlfriends (1894), Oil on cardboard, 48 x 34.5 cm, Musee Toulouse-Lautrec, Albi, FR. (Left) TOULOUSE-LAUTREC’s Two Girlfriends (189495); and (right) COURBET’s Realist Sleep (c. 1865). TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, Henri. Alone (1896), Oil on board, 12 x 15 3/4 in., Musee D'Orsay, Paris. (Left) Toulouse-Lautrec’s Post-Impressionist The Toilette (1896), Oil on canvas, 26 1/2 x 21 1/4 in., Musee D'Orsay, Paris; and (right) Degas’ Impressionist Woman Combing Her Hair (1886), Pastel on cardboard, 21 x 20 1/2 in., Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia.
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IMAGE INDEX
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