Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - French Painter and Printmaker

Artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was born on November 24, 1864 in Albi, France. He was born into an aristocratic family; his father was Comte Alphonse-Charles de Toulouse-Lautrec. Lautrec was born with several congenital health problems that were blamed on inbreeding. When he was 12, he broke his leg and when he was 14 broke his other leg. Neither healed properly and as a result his legs stopped growing. The rest of his body continued to grow.

In the 1890s Lautrec moved to Paris, settling in the Montmartre area which was home to many artists and writers. He began painting the people of the area. When the Moulin Rouge opened he drew a series of posters advertising the cabaret. Lautrec was highly influenced by the Impressionist artists of the time including Manet and Degas. He was also influenced by Japanese woodprints. Most of his paintings portrayed the life around him in the bars and cabarets of Montmartre. In his relatively short career Lautrec put out an amazing amount of work. He left behind over 1,000 works of art, almost 400 prints and posters, over 5,000 drawings and even ceramics and stained glass.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec died on September 9, 1901 of complications from alcoholism and syphilis. After his death, his mother donated money to build a museum to display his works in Albi.

Today, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is mainly known as the short artist. However, his illustrations have long been popular in posters, notebooks and postcards. Especially well-known are the posters he created for the Moulin Rouge.

Love is when the desire to be desired takes you so badly that you feel you could die of it.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec