Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (November 24, 1864 - September 9, 1901) was a French painter, born in Albi, Tarn in the Midi-Pyrénées Region of France. He came from an old aristocratic family that had lost much of its prestige. He was the son of Comte Alphonse and Comtesse Adèle de Toulouse-Lautrec. At age twelve Henri broke his left leg, and at fourteen his right leg. The bones did not heal properly, and his legs ceased to grow. Lautrec reached maturity with a body trunk of normal size but with abnormally short legs. He was only 4 1/2 feet (1.5 meters) tall. For his work, he has been called the soul of Montmartre, the place where he made his home.   Toulouse-Lautrec's paintings, illustrations and affiches (posters) of Montmartre, "Le Moulin Rouge", Jane Avril, La Goulue, et al cemented the universal fame and immortality of the Parisian Can Can. His paintings portray  and echo the life, drama, tragedy, pleasures and magic of  Montmartre and Parisian cabarets and theaters, as well as the sinful scents of the Parisian  brothels  he regularly frequented. He loved women. And Louise Weber was his greatest unfulfilled passion and desire. She refused to pose nude for him. Despite her refusal, he painted her while observing her dancing the Can Can at "Le Moulin Rouge". Truly, Toulouse-Lautrec loved two women in his life: Louise Weber and Yvette Gilbert who succumbed to his desires. Weber did not. The two famous people occurring in his paintings were as expected,  the singer Yvette Guilbert and the Queen of the French Can Can, Louise Weber, known as the outrageous La Goulue. Toulouse-Lautrec  contracted syphilis from Rosa La Rouge, a prostitute whom he painted many times,  and it eventually killed him. Louise Weber was the one who  introduced La Rouge to Toulouse-Lautrec, just to get rid of him. He died at his estate in Malromé and is buried in Verdelais, Gironde, a few miles from his birthplace. Today, a painting by him can sell for as much as US$ 14.5 million. And the best of the best of his affiches are those of Louise Weber and Jane Avril.

 

AFFICHES AND PAINTINGS BY TOULOUSE-LAUTREC

LOUISE WEBER (LA GOULUE)

 

Left, a painting depicting La Goulue. Right, an affiche illustrating the Can Can routine of La Goulue.

 

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