Toulouse-Lautrec: 141 Masterpieces

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is best notorious as a storyteller of the night life of late 19th century Paris. He used to frequent the nightclubs and cafés of Montmartre, befriending the dancers and prostitutes, making countless sketches as they comb their hair or just lie in bed. Toulouse-Lautrec did not picture the world of the dancers and prostitutes from outside: he just lived in that world. From time to time he rented a room in a brothel, where he made drawings of the prostitutes and their clientèle. With only a few strokes Toulouse-Lautrec gives a mood and a character. The men in his paintings, drawings and posters are often caricatures of power with large protruding chins and noses and big fat faces. By contrast his women are drawn with much warmth and understanding.