Toulouse-Lautrec (1864 – 1901) Painter, Printmaker, Illustrator (1864 – 1901) Painter, Printmaker, Illustrator

Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec- Monfa Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was born on November 24, 1864 in Albi, France, the son of a count and countess. His parents separated and Henri lived with his mother in Paris. She quickly realized he had artistic talent. Henri suffered from several genetic problems. His legs stopped growing when he was about 12, so he had an adult upper body, but the legs of a child.

Since he was physically unable to participate in most of the activities of his peers, he turned intensely to his art. In Paris, he was drawn to the area of Montmartre, which was a famous haunt of artists and writers who lived a bohemian lifestyle. He would spend the rest of his life there, making friends like Vincent van Gogh. His painting instructor encouraged him to roam about Paris looking for subjects to paint. Vincent van Gogh (1887))

When a nearby cabaret opened, Toulouse-Lautrec was hired to create a series of posters advertising it. While making posters gave him a good source of income, other artists frowned on it as commercial. He didn’t care. Moulin Rouge-La Goulue (1891)

Ambassadeurs Aristide Bruant (1892)

Toulouse-Lautrec spent a lot of time in and around the Moulin Rouge, his paintings were of the dancers and their patrons. There was always a table for him at the cabaret, and his work was displayed on the walls. Jane Avril Leaving the Moulin Rouge (1892)

Self portrait in the crowd at the Moulin Rouge (he’s on the right, seen in profile)

Jane Avril (1893)Mary Belfort (1895) He painted posters of the dancers

The clown Cha-U-Kao at the Moulin Rouge (1995)

Jane Avril (1899)

During a career of less than 20 years, Toulouse-Lautrec created 737 paintings, 275 watercolors, 262 prints and posters, over 5000 drawings, and some ceramics and stained glass. He specialized in capturing people in their work environment, often gaudy night life creatures seen in an unglamorous way. He created detailed crowd scenes where every person could be identified as a real individual.

Henri Toulouse-Lautrec died at his family’s estate in Malrome, France on September 9, He was 36 years old.

100 soup cans (1962) Some question how much of the art was created by Warhol himself, and how much he had others at the factory do. In 1961, Warhol wrote a check to a gallery owner for $50 as payment for coming up with the idea painting soup cans. The painting sold for $10,000 at auction in Similar paintings sell for over $6 million dollars today.

Warhol’s entire estate was left to a foundation dedicated to the “advancement of visual arts”. He had so many possessions, it took 9 days to auction it off after his death. The auction raised more than $20 million. Andy Warhol died in New York City on February 22, 1987 of complications from gall bladder surgery.

Andy Warhol also left behind 612 “time capsules” – cardboard boxes filled with photos, newspapers, letters, magazines, phone messages and ads for concerts and poetry readings.