Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec has spent lengthy periods…
1896 CE
The result is a sensitive portrayal of brothel life in Elles; a significant series done in 1896.
The eleven works reveal these individuals as human beings, with some of the same strengths and many of the weaknesses of other members of society.
Au salon de la rue des Moulins ("At the Salon"), a masterpiece of this genre, 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.
At the Salon 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.
The appearance of "Elles" coincides with a growing deterioration in his physical and mental condition.
Toulouse-Lautrec's figure, even among the great human diversity found in Montmartre, remains unmistakable.
His fully developed torso rests on dwarfish legs.
Not quite five feet one inch tall, his size seems further diminished because of his practice of associating with unusually tall men, such as his fellow students Louis Anquetin and Maxime Dethomas and his cousin and close friend Gabriel Tapié de Céleyran.
His frequently ironic tone fails to mask a fundamental dislike of his physical appearance, and his letters contain many derogatory remarks about his body and references to an increasing number of ailments, including syphilis.
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West Europe
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