Toulouse-Lautrec and His World

by Maria-Christina Boerner

The Belle Époque (Beautiful Era), which dates from the late nineteenth century to the start of World War I, was an incredible period of creative and scientific activity. Until his death in 1901 at the age of 36, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was one of its leading names along with poets and writers such as Guy de Maupassant and Emile Zola. He exhibited with Vincent Van Gogh and was a friend of Oscar Wilde whom he met during his time in London. Creating literally thousands of artworks during his short life, the images that Toulouse-Lautrec created were evocative of the mood of that time. His drawings and lithographs were often playful or satirical, but captured the essence of his subject

This book brings together over 170 images. In addition, there are documentary images from the period depicting life in fin de siècle Paris and selected cities around the world. Clothing, architecture and images of street life are featured and where possible photographs of the people Toulouse-Lautrec featured in his works such as Aristide Bruant.


Introduction
Toulouse-Lautrec and the Belle Époque in Paris
The Works on Paper
The Belle Époque outside Paris

176 pages, Hardcover

First published April 5, 2012

Reviews

[Servabo · Rating 3 out of 5]

From an art historian's perspective, Toulouse-Lautrec is indisputably one of the most important avant-garde artists of the late 19th century. His posters and lithographs in particular, with their bright expanses of even colour, sharp contours and sweeping lines, account for both his abiding popularity and his renown as an artistic innovator. The same goes for his acutely perspicacious drawings, which capture the barest essentials with sparse, quickly sketched strokes. His oil paintings, like his drawings, have great spontaneity and freshness, despite the long hours of meticulous work that went into them, securing him a apace in the world's great galleries.

[Joseph Adelizzi, Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book wasn't much on text, but what made it a special experience for me was the juxtaposition of some of Toulouse-Lautrec's works with photographs of the subjects of those works. I think that juxtaposition provides a thought-provoking window into the mind and emotion of the artist.