Toulouse-Lautrec's Moulin Rouge: A Masterpiece of Parisian Nightlife

Key facts

• Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draftsman, caricaturist, and illustrator.
• He was born into aristocracy in the South of France and focused on the decadent bohemian lifestyle in Paris.
• Lautrec is considered a precursor of Expressionism and a Post-Impressionist.
• He lived and worked in Montmartre, Paris, alongside artists like Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Pablo Picasso.
• Lautrec was inspired by Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints, adopting bold outlines and flatness.
• The Moulin Rouge opened in 1889 as a Parisian cabaret hall, known as the birthplace of the modern can-can dance.
• Lautrec was commissioned to create posters for the Moulin Rouge, including 'Moulin Rouge–La Goulue' (1891) featuring La Goulue and Valentine 'the Boneless'.
• The painting 'At the Moulin Rouge, The Dance' (1890) is held by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
• The painting shows Valentine teaching a new dancer the can-can; an inscription on the back reads 'The instruction of the new ones by Valentine the Boneless.'
• Valentine 'the Boneless' (real name Edme-Etienne-Jules Renaudin) was a famous dancer and contortionist.
• The composition features diagonal red accents, vertical columns, chandeliers, and murky green shadows.
• An aristocratic woman in pink sits in the foreground, while a bartender and a skull-like figure (possibly Lautrec's father) appear in the background.