|
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec
 A man of the day in Paris who went to an exhibition of Lautrec's wrote in his diary: "An exhibition of lithographs by Lautrec, a dwarf
of a man- his drawings seem to reflect his own caricature- like deformity." The
gentleman was not the only one to find a connection between the man and his
works. The odd, deformed and limping man was evident in the works, which is
something rare. Lautrec's looks had an influence on his work and in the
strangest fashion the artist's body seemed to bear town on his personality in a
direct and better way, as if he lacked a soul to see his face. Lautrec received
many tributes in his own lifetime from the moment he began exhibiting his lithos
and posters (today he is remembered for the posters that are our window to the
era of Belle Époque). Posters were daring: in line and in color and technique.
He developed an unusual spatter technique that became a signature look (always
carried a toothbrush in his pocket). "Lautrec was admired for his bold and frank
philosophy of vice." He was unusual and easily bored: would develop a particular
liking for a person, women or animal, even a gesture- these fleeting
infatuations would take precedence one over the other. He would drop people
quickly except for Jane Avril and Joyant (a childhood friend and his
biographer). Degas was Lautrec's idol- he influenced Lautrec to use lithography
around 1890. His influence can be seen in the Elle series for example, the soft
treatment and gestures of the women. This work was a peak in his career.
Lautrec's first graphic was in 1885 and was a zinc engraving (he was 20 years
old)- it was a cover for a Bruant ballad called "A Saint-Cazare". His first
color lithograph was his poster for the Moulin Rouge- (He always drew directly
on the stone- no preliminary sketches that were transferred. (1892) Lautrec did
the poster because he was having trouble exhibiting his paintings, and it was
even harder for him to exhibit his prints. In those days a poster was regarded
as a work of art. The greatest poster artist of the day was Cheret, admired by
policemen and people of taste alike. Cheret, interviewed in 1892, named Lautrec
as his successor. "He is a master," Cheret said. And in his gratitude for this
statement Lautrec had himself photographed removing his hat in front of one of
Cheret's posters. He tried to express life in all its manners, such as dress,
moves, etc… He says he went into the world of prostitutes and the cafes of
Montmartre not as a pleasure seeker, but as a historian. We could surmise by his
lonely and unhappy life, they saw a kindness in him that superceded his physical
ugliness as he saw beyond their "ugly" lifestyles. This is how they became his
favorite subjects. Lautrec's "expressionist" technique took place in the heyday
of impressionism and took him out to that movement to the long continuation of
his final style. Actors and actresses of the day respected him; he portrayed in
art what they were trying to portray on the stage. Lautrec was known to all gay
Paris, always at the Moulin Rouge, the Casino, the Folies Bergere, the cafés and
vulgar dance halls. "He went from wedding feasts to parties- he was highly
intellectual and cultivated, his work has a striking air of mournful sadness- he
mixes cocktails with a dexterous flourish and a sense of perfection. He is a
fantastic satirist." These were some of the comments of the day from his
admirers. In 1898 his condition had grown serious and he became very unbalanced-
he hardly worked at all- he was very drunk most of the time. He died in 1901,
very famous with a great following abroad. His understanding of the human
condition has given us one hundred years of appreciation for the Belle Époque
era.
The poet Cendrars was responsible for Chagall’s meeting with the art dealer
Ambroise Vollard, and his first retrospective exhibition was given at the
Barbazange-Hodebert, Paris in 1924. His style became increasingly romantic and
devoted to fantastic narratives during the middle 1920’s. Chagall’s first
lithography plates (30 in all, 1992-23) in Berlin, were executed in crayon on
lithographic paper. The Jewish Wedding (1926, New York Museum of Modern Art), a
gouache and chalk composition, disclosed another tendency of his Russian origin.
His first New York show dated from 1926. In 1927, he undertook the illustration
of La Fontaine’s Fables completing 100 plates in 1930. In 1931, he traveled to
Palestine and Syria to study themes for Biblical engravings, another Vollard
commission.
Return
|
