14 | April | 2015 | thoughts and entanglements

Today in the A to Z Challenge

The letter is L

I am using this challenge to learn more about art and the artists who paint them

At the Moulin Rouge , 1890
Henri d

Henri DeToulouse – Lautrec, French, Post Impressionist, 1864-190

Canvas

no escape from his brush

energy of parisian nightlife

entombed on canvas

4/14/15

Henri De Toulouse – Lautrec was born in aristocracy in Albi, Tarn, France. Boy, did he have a colorful life! Albeit a short one. He suffered genetic abnormalities due to inbreeding. Cousins marrying cousins to maintain the purity of the heritage and getting more than they bargained for. They didn’t know then what we now know – not a good idea. He had problems with his legs, they were short. It’s said in the reading that they were the size and height of a child though he had an adult torso.
Toulouse-Lautrec was drawn to Montmartre, an area of Paris famous for its bohemian lifestyle and for being the haunt of artists, writers, and philosophers. An area where good, as well as naughty fun could be had. There he spent much time in brothels, where he was accepted by the prostitutes and madames to such an extent that he often moved in, and lived in a brothel for weeks at a time. The subjects in his paintings were the people around him, prostitutes and madames. Moulin Rouge cabaret commissioned him to produce a series of posters, they were among some of his most famous works.
An alcoholic most of his adult life. He died from complications due to alcoholism and syphilis at the family estate in Malrome, fewer than three months before his 37th birthday. He left behind a most celebrated body of work.

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/p/a-to-z-challenge-sign-uplist-2015.html

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/?m=1

References
http://www.theartwolf.com/articles/50-impressionist-paintings.htm

http://www.toulouse-lautrec-foundation.org/biography.html

This website offers a detailed dig on Lautrec. The sweetener is, it also offers an expansive look at his work, 24 paintings per page on 26 pages. Well worth a visit.

http://www.toulouse-lautrec-foundation.org/