Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri Biography

Toulouse-Lautrec had the mis­fortune to break both his legs in childhood, as a result of which he was stunted in his growth. In 1882 he began to study art seriously in Paris, and by 1885 had a studio in Montmartre. Toulouse-Lautrec exhibited at the Salon des Independants from 1889 and with Les Vingt in Brussels, and in 1891 his first posters brought him immediate recognition. Toulouse-Lautrec made his first color prints in 1892, and held a one-man show in. Paris in the following year. In 1894 he went to Brussels, and in 1895 made the first of several visits to London, where he met Oscar Wilde and Beardsley. Toulouse-Lautrec held a second exhibition in 1896, and visited Holland, Portugal and Spain, but in 1898 his health began to suffer from drink. In 1899 Toulouse-Lautrec spent three months in a clinic recovering from alcoholism, and during his convalescence he worked on a series of drawings of the circus. After his recovery, Toulouse-Lautrec resumed his old life, but in 1901 he broke down completely and was taken to his mother's country house, where he died.

Toulouse-Lautrec’s famous oil paintings include:

• Cirque Fernando
• At the Moulin de la Galette
• The Laundress
• At the Moulin Rouge
• The Salon in the Rue des Moulins

View Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri paintings here.