Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec was born in a mountainous region of France known as Tarn. He was born into aristocracy, yet his parents separated at a young age due to familial trauma. Thus, Henri decided to move with his mother to Paris, wherein he first began to establish himself as an artist with his first paintings and sketches. However, despite early demonstrations of talent he suffered extreme health problems and left Paris.
The origins of his health can be traced to his high social and family status, which at the time featured interbreeding to preserve genetic lines. Inbreeding meant genetic sickness, a problem that made Henri incredibly susceptible to sickness. At age thirteen, he fractured his leg. At age fourteen, he fractured his other leg. Neither of these injuries healed due to his similarity of suffering to osteopetrosis. Thus, Henri never grew above five foot and one inches. Art became his outlet, due to the physical inability to do many other activities. He thrived in art, and had his own unique style to add to the artistic Post-impressionism.
Thus, Henri attended university and made drastic progress in his artistic style. Following completion at the University of Nice, he set up his one art studio within Paris. While in Paris, he became very interested in the scene associated with Montmartre. Montmartre was the "Bohemian" night scene of Paris, being full of night-life and clubs. It is with his initial interest in Montmartre that Toulouse-Lautrec made his name and his fame.
With his paintings, Toulouse-Lautrec made Moulin Rouge imfamous. He painted the entertainers and gave the Parisian night scene an incredibly notorious appeal that attracted worldwide visitors. Thus, because of Toulouse-Lautrec the world became a much more integrated place. In this time period, the late 19th century, industrialism often featured non-international travel and limited experiences with the world in its entirety. Yet, Toulouse-Lautrec was able to play on the imaginations of his art viewers and created a magical world from a unique angle.
All the while Henri Toulouse-Lautrec create an impression of the Parisian night scene, he deviled in some of the weirdest concoctions of alcohol and drugs. Thus, he became evenmore intriguing on the psychological level and also an example of the uncontrollable behavior of developing city scape night clubs. I chose Toulouse-Lautrec due to the humourous appeal to research more on the artist himself. He was physically affected by numerous genetic and metaphysical ailments, yet he did whatever he desired. I do not agree with his lifestyle, living the spoiled life of French nobility and abusing it, but he is an interesting person that practically lived the life he aspired to possess. Ultimately, he died of alcoholism; which, is largely not the noblest way to end an infamous artistic career. Everything about this man, even in his last words, were lived in his own glory.
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec during his party lifestyle was still very hard at work. He painted an estimated 1000 paintings, as well as thousands of other sketches that were influential to the Impressionistic art style. This Impressionist style, came to be the art scene for decades to come following Henri's influences. His Impressionistic style mainly pertained to the depiction of humans, crowds, and entertainers. He developed siloutte styles that have largely been impossible to capture since his life. Contours in brushstrokes had never taken the shapes Lautrec created. It was intriguing and magical, and continues to be Lautrec's lasting impression from his masterpieces.
In conclusion, I do not advocate disobeying medical advisement or in any way do I think drug or alcohol abuse is humerous, especially when someone with extreme talent abuses their god graced abilities. Nonetheless, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec will continue to most importantly be remember for his Impressionist style that influenced not only the world, but also a style that became quite popular throughout the art industry. This is his lasting legacy, and even someone as non-artistic such as myself will continue to appreciate masterpieces despite an artists gluttonous personality. Finally, the imagination of such works is only further enhanced by wonderng ideas such as, "What if this man had not abused drugs and alcohol and took his career more seriously?". The world will never know, thus it will be taken as is. The end of a life and a tremendous ability.
Bibliography
"Why Lautrec was a giant". London: The Times. 10 December 2006. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article662158.ece. Retrieved 2007-12-08. "Toulouse Lautrec: The Full Story". Channel 4. http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/T/toulouse_lautrec/lautrec.html. Retrieved 2010-10-01.
Angier, Natalie (6 June 1995). "What Ailed Toulouse-Lautrec? Scientists Zero In on a Key Gene". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE7D61338F935A35755C0A963958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
