Henri Toulouse-Lautrec

This Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec painting is titled “La Goulue”. It was painted in 1873. If you don’t understand French this translates into “The Glutton”. Back then, Moulin Rouge was referred to as a cabaret in Paris. Men liked to go and dance with the prostitutes, wine them and dine them. Toulouse-Lautrec painted pieces that depicted this. He painted piece of aristocratic society along with the lower class. He depicted the good time and the bad times. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was born in 1864 in Albi, Tarn, France. He began to paint at the age of eight years old. When he was 13 years old he broke his right thigh bone and then at 14, he broke his left one. He only grew to be five feet tall. Because he was so short he was teased so he turned to alcohol to numb himself.  He immersed himself into his art and became known as one of the greatest Post-Impressionist painters ever. He ranks up there will Van Gogh, Cezanne, and Gauguin. Later, he moved to London from Paris and made posters. Toulouse-Lautrec died from complications of alcoholism and syphilis in 1901.  In the 20 years of his career he painted 737 canvases, 275 watercolors, 363 prints and posters, and drew 5,084 drawings.

The purpose of this painting was for advertisement. This is a poster Toulouse-Lautrec painted to advertise that the Moulin Rouge was having a Masquerade Ball. The audience is the aristocratic gentlemen because they have the money to spend on the prostitutes. The genre is a poster. The poster is promoting the Ball. The medium is art.