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ABSTRACT
THE MARGINALIZED AND OSTRACIZED HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC: HOW A GENETIC PHYSICAL AILMENT WAS KEY TO
A NOBLE MAN’S DÉCLASSÉ DROP IN SOCIAL CLASS AS HE PARALLELED HIMSELF WITH THE OUTCAST IN
BOHEMIAN MONTMARTRE
The purpose of this thesis is to determine how the genetic disease pycnodysostosis
determined the artwork and subject matter of the modern artist Henri de Toulouse-
Lautrec as he paralleled himself with the social outcast living in bohemian Montmartre
Paris during the 19th century. The class structure of European society naturally
marginalized Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec for his physical ailment. Despite his noble
privilege, he was ostracized for his physical height, ridiculed for his short stature as it
was viewed as a freak of nature. Because of his physical differences, his peers denied him
the opportunity to be a legitimate member of the aristocracy and respectable citizen of
bourgeois society. This led to a general experience of alienation in such environments
among his own class throughout his lifetime. Eventually, this caused him to find refuge in
bohemian society, where his experience of exclusion paralleled that of other social
outcasts, which validated his own rejection in terms of his class and its values. This
movement away from his own class transformed the focus of his art. The respectable
subject matter that was once expected of him by the aristocracy was unexpectedly
replaced with the bohemian as subject, an act seen as a disrespect to the establishment,
including his own family. The “noble lady” was replaced with the art model, female
entertainer, the prostitute and the lesbian, while the “noble gentleman” was replaced with
the male anarchist, entertainer and homosexual.
Jonathan Wayne Stanley May 2020
THE MARGINALIZED AND OSTRACIZED HENRI DE TOULOUSE-
LAUTREC: HOW A GENETIC PHYSICAL AILMENT WAS KEY TO
A NOBLE MAN’S DÉCLASSÉ DROP IN SOCIAL CLASS AS HE
PARALLELED HIMSELF WITH THE OUTCAST IN
BOHEMIAN MONTMARTRE
by
Jonathan Wayne Stanley
A thesis
submitted in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts in Art
in the College of Arts and Humanities
California State University, Fresno
May 2020
APPROVED
For the Department of Art and Design:
We, the undersigned, certify that the thesis of the following student meets the required standards of scholarship, format, and style of the university and the student's graduate degree program for the awarding of the master's degree. Jonathan Wayne Stanley
Thesis Author
Keith Jordan (Chair) Art and Design
Laura Meyer Art and Design
Criss Wilhite Psychology
For the University Graduate Committee:
Dean, Division of Graduate Studies
AUTHORIZATION FOR REPRODUCTION
OF MASTER’S THESIS
X I grant permission for the reproduction of this thesis in part or in its
entirety without further authorization from me, on the condition that
the person or agency requesting reproduction absorbs the cost and
provides proper acknowledgment of authorship.
Permission to reproduce this thesis in part or in its entirety must be
obtained from me.
Signature of thesis author: Jonathan Wayne Stanley
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Personal Dedication
Even though Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is found in the Post-Impressionist and Art
Nouveau modern art movements of 19th-century Paris, I envisioned his very life
incarnating in this thesis as if the manifestation of a classical Renaissance Pietà.
Reminiscent of Michelangelo’s Divine Mother with Child, I envisioned his long-
suffering pious mother Adèle as the natural solid rock, The Virtuous Virgin, carved out of
the marble stone she is sitting on while both her flesh and foundation supports her son
Henri—until the very end—holding him in her arms literally, even metaphorically until
his death.
I envisioned Henri as that noble child, the Viscount, her Only Begotten Son—for he
was—and despite the world’s frequent denial of his true majesty, he prevailed and left
behind an artistic legacy that is one of a kind, but it did not come without the sacrifice of
his own life.
My role in the vision is to present and deliver this thesis as a gift to them both—to
acknowledge their sacred mother and son relationship—but most of all, to give honor to
Henri—a truly victorious noble man and avant-garde artist of the 19th century.
May his art legacy live on forever as I dedicate this thesis project to him.
Personal Acknowledgements
-I would like to acknowledge and thank my Toulouse-Lautrec Committee: Keith Jordan,
Ph.D., Laura Meyer, Ph.D. and Professor Criss Wilhite for their service, academic role
and support during this thesis.
v v
-I would like to acknowledge and thank the author and scholar Julia Frey for her award
winning biography Toulouse-Lautrec: A Life (1994). It has brought forth the most
detailed and intimate of facts pertaining to the life of the artist. I used it as my
comprehensive H.T-L baseline for identification, verification and foundation.
-I would like to acknowledge and thank my lawyer, Shirin, (including James and various
legal colleagues) for their advisement in protecting the best interest of my professional
future.
-I would like to acknowledge and thank my therapist Gidai, who never wavered in the
belief that I have something valuable to offer the world.
-I would like to acknowledge and thank my older brother Philip, my older sister Cindy
and my brother-in-law Mike who offered their love and support as both family and friend
during this thesis.
-I would like to acknowledge and thank my fellow art colleague Anabella, whose artwork
in combination with her fiery Picasso-like spirit only gave me more enthusiasm to seek
out untapped parallels in uncovering veiled truth as an artist and writer.
-I would like to acknowledge and thank my fellow art colleague Timothy who was
always available to me and never forgot I was a Fresno State graduate student, thesis
candidate and human being during this entire project.
-I would like to acknowledge and thank Caitlyn for her early support as a friend and
professional colleague in my thesis endeavors on Toulouse-Lautrec.
-I would like to acknowledge and thank my fellow art colleague Denise, who during her
own life duties, still managed to be present and mindful of our friendship during this
thesis.
-I would like to acknowledge and thank the Associate Vice-Presidents of Faculty Affairs
at Fresno State University for their administrative support and attention to this thesis.
vi vi
-I would like to acknowledge and thank—past and present—all who have paid a price for
their own marginalized or ostracized experience: let’s hope the future sustains the
enlightenment required to always “see a Toulouse-Lautrec” in our midst.
-I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge myself, for I embraced my own
beliefs, values, principles and life experience for the sake of birthing this thesis project.
-Finally, I would like to acknowledge and thank “Veritas” itself, for Truth was the
intention of the University and its establishment from the beginning; therefore, let Truth
be found in the commitment, presentation and recording of this thesis.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................ ix
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION WITH QUESTIONS POSED ......................................... 1
CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND & EARLY BEGINNINGS ................................................ 5
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: An Artist is Born ............................................................... 5
Alphonse de Toulouse-Lautrec: The Artist’s Father ..................................................... 7
Adèle de Toulouse-Lautrec: The Artist’s Mother ........................................................ 16
The Toulouse-Lautrecs: Royal Inbreeding, Noble Aristocracy & Family Estate ...... 21
The Move to Paris: Hôtel Peréy, Baccalauréat Exams & Formal Pursuit of Art ....... 29
The Parisian Atelier: The Art Masters Princeteau, Bonnat & Cormon ...................... 32
Bohemian Montmartre Paris: Toulouse-Lautrec’s New Home ................................. 42
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Physical Ailment: Discovery, Symptoms, Progression and Prognosis ............................................................................................................ 47
Toulouse-Lautrec: An Eccentric Personality Full of Theatrics.................................. 59
CHAPTER 3: ART CRITIQUE & ARGUMENTS ............................................................. 73
Toulouse-Lautrec: Movement and Transformations with Everything Anew ............ 73
Toulouse-Lautrec: Validating His Own Outcast Experience through his Art ........... 74
The Demimonde Model, Entertainer, Prostitute and Lesbian Woman as Fellow Outcast................................................................................................................ 75
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Relation with La Goulue: Queen of Montmartre ....................... 75
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Relation with Jane Avril: La Mélénite ........................................ 79
The Male Anarchist, Entertainer and Homosexual as Fellow Outcast ....................... 85
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Relation with Aristide Bruant: La Trumpet ................................ 85
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Relation with Oscar Wilde: A Fellow Aristocrat’s fall from Grace .................................................................................................................. 92
CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION ................................................................................................ 98
Page
viii viii
Aristocracy vs. Bohemianism: How a Déclassé Drop in Social Class Made Sense for Toulouse-Lautrec .............................................................................. 98
Bohemian Society: What it really represented for Toulouse-Lautrec ........................ 99
Toulouse-Lautrec: An Artist Paralleling Himself with the Social Outcast .............. 100
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARIES & CONCLUSION .............................................................. 102
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Physical Ailment’s Psychological and Behavioral Impact ............................................................................................................... 102
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Psychological and Behavioral Impact of his Physical Ailment on Himself ......................................................................................... 102
Toulouse-Lautrec: His Father Alphonse..................................................................... 106
Toulouse-Lautrec: His Mother Adèle ......................................................................... 113
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Demimonde Women ............................................................. 116
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Male Anarchists .................................................................... 121
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Vengeful Acts of Defiance as it Relates to his Physical Ailment ............................................................................................................. 122
Toulouse-Lautrec: His Alcoholism ............................................................................. 124
Toulouse-Lautrec: His Contraction of Syphilis ......................................................... 126
Toulouse-Lautrec: Public Display of Nudity circa 1896 ........................................... 130
Toulouse-Lautrec: Public Display of Defecation circa 1898 ................................... 133
Toulouse-Lautrec: Insane Asylum circa 1899 ........................................................... 135
Toulouse-Lautrec: His Death circa 1901 .................................................................... 139
LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Figure 1 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec circa 1880/1890 ........................................................ 2
Figure 2 - Henri at 3 in 1867 ................................................................................................... 6
Figure 3 - Alphonse circa 1860................................................................................................ 8
Figure 4 - The Falconer, Comte Alphonse circa 1881 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ...... 13
Figure 5 - Moulin Rouge, La Goulue circa 1891 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec .............. 15
Figure 6 - Adèle circa 1860.................................................................................................... 17
Figure 7 - Old Plate Illustrating the Penance of the Count of Toulouse in 1209 .............. 23
Figure 8 - The Hôtel du Bosc Tower where Alphonse Lived in 1894 ................................. 28
Figure 9 - Henri in between René Princeteau (Left) and Sculptor Félix Plessis (Right) circa 1890 ................................................................................................. 33
Figure 10 - René Princeteau in his Studio circa 1881-1882 ................................................ 35
Figure 11 - In Cormon's Atelier: Cormon himself at the Easel in Front; Henri to the Front Left of Cormon in Hat circa 1885 ............................................................. 38
Figure 12 - Paris Montmartre, Boulevard de Clichy and the Moulin-Rouge circa 1900 ....................................................................................................................... 43
Figure 13 - Paris Montmartre Le Moulin de la Galette circa 1885 .................................... 46
Figure 14 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec circa 1892 .............................................................. 48
Figure 15 - Typical finding of Short to Non-Existent Distal Phalanges in pycnodysostosis shown in both Flesh (Photo) and X-ray. A pycnodysostosis Hand (Center X-ray) is compared to a Hand with Normal Distal Phalanges (Far Right X-ray). ................................................................... 54
Figure 16 - A Human Skull at Birth showing both front and back “Open Fontanels” (Fontanelles) with corresponding Cranial Sutures circa drawing before 1858 ....................................................................................................................... 56
Figure 17 - An Entertaining Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec dressed in Japanese Costume Regalia circa 1887 ................................................................................ 67
Figure 18 –A Theatrical Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec dressed in Woman's Attire as Costume Regalia circa 1892 ................................................................................ 68
Figure 19 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec dressed in ‘Circus-Inspired’ Harlequin Costume Regalia circa Date Unknown ............................................................... 69
Figure 20 - La Goulue (Louise Weber) circa 1885 .............................................................. 77
Page
x x
Figure 21 - La Goulue at the Moulin Rouge circa 1892 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ... 79
Figure 22 - Jane Avril circa 1899 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ...................................... 82
Figure 23 - Jane Avril circa 1890 - Photograph by Paul Sescau ......................................... 83
Figure 24 - Aristide Bruant circa 1886 ................................................................................. 88
Figure 25 - Le Mirliton, weekly Edited by Aristide Bruant, n 102, March 24, 1893 ........ 89
Figure 26 – Aristide Bruant dans son Cabaret circa 1893 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ................................................................................................................... 91
Figure 27 - Oscar Wilde circa 1882 ...................................................................................... 93
Figure 28 - A Picture of the Cover of the July, 1890 Edition of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, where "The Picture of Dorian Gray" was first published (also simultaneously published in London) ................................................................. 95
Figure 29 - Oscar Wilde circa 1895 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ................................... 97
Figure 30 - Mr. Toulouse paints Mr. Lautrec circa 1891 .................................................. 105
Figure 31 - Self-Invented Remarque Stamp Signature of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) ......................................................................................................... 107
Figure 32 - The Artist's Father Alphonse dressed in Exotic Scottish Kilt as Falcon Hunting Highlander circa late 19th century ..................................................... 111
Figure 33 - Jane Avril Jardin de Paris by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec circa 1893 ......... 112
Figure 34 - Lost (Self-Portrait) circa 1882 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec...................... 114
Figure 35 - Alone (Elles) circa 1896 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ................................ 117
Figure 36 - Olympia circa 1865 by Édouard Manet........................................................... 119
Figure 37 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Swimming Completely Nude in the Bassin d'Arcachon circa 1896 ........................................................................................ 131
Figure 38 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Defecating on the Beach at Le Crotoy, Picardie circa 1898 ............................................................................................. 134
Figure 39 - Tomb of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec at Verdelais, Gironde, France ............ 145
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION WITH QUESTIONS POSED
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Still Marginalized & Ostracized for his Physical Ailment?
If someone discounts the art of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (Figure 1) because
they are disturbed by genetic inbreeding, doesn’t his physical ailment have the power to
still marginalize today? If they avoid his art because they feel he was illegitimate due to
his short stature, doesn’t his physical ailment have the power to still ostracize today?
There have been instances where Toulouse-Lautrec seems to be left out of the
conversation or consideration of the modern art movement. Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir
and Picasso are household names when it comes to art, but mention Toulouse-Lautrec
and even most art enthusiasts struggle to place him within the appropriate art movement.
Art historians perhaps skip over Toulouse-Lautrec simply because they don’t want to face
the deeper analysis his physical ailment requires with the mention of his name. To focus
on his art, its subject matter and his life, begs for a deeper meaning as it relates to his
obvious condition, a physical condition that is visibly undeniable.
Understandably, individuals, including professional scholars, might have doubts
about proclaiming the mastery of an artist who was inflicted with a genetic physical
ailment. Yet this possible position still demonstrates the physical ailment’s power to set
the tone of Toulouse-Lautrec’s life, even after death. A present day introduction and
discussion of the modern art movement of the 19th century without the mention of
Toulouse-Lautrec is a disservice to the artist’s original contribution to the era. Further, if
his contribution is specifically ignored in order to avoid the supposed reservation his
physical ailment triggers in others, by definition, it’s a continued act of marginalization
toward the artist in present time. During the 19th century, individuals similarly
underestimated and therefore rejected Toulouse-Lautrec due to this exact same social and
cultural reaction his physical ailment triggered in them.
2 2
Figure 1 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec circa 1880/1890 – Photograph (Author: Paul
Sescau) (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
Frequently, when introducing Toulouse-Lautrec’s life, many early published art
history texts mention his physical ailment as a curious oddity, just another unusual
characteristic among the endless eccentricities of the modern artists. Usually his physical
ailment is mentioned superficially in discussing the beginning of his life or his death. But
rarely, if at all, is his physical ailment emphasized as the driving force behind his art, his
choices, and his relationships across his life and even his death. A longstanding overdue
3 3
point that needs to be made is that Toulouse-Lautrec’s physical ailment was not just a
passenger along for a ride, but was indeed the driver determining the directions of his
life, including his art.
All the avant-garde 19th century modern artists working at the time, including
Toulouse-Lautrec, faced the same challenges: birthing new art, thought, mediums and
practice in opposition to established social order. But Toulouse-Lautrec, in addition to
these new challenges, also had to manage a lifelong physical ailment which was unique
to himself and his experience, exponentially compounding any challenges to succeed as
both an artist and human being.
Even though there were other artists throughout history who faced physical health
challenges in regard to vision, hearing, mobility, pain and eventual geriatric ailments,
Toulouse-Lautrec’s case was one of a kind. His condition—supposed pycnodysostosis—
was genetic, seen as incurable and only just manageable. It was a permanent, constant
condition from birth to death rather than episodic. One of the results of his physical
ailment was a noticeably short stature which functioned as a scarlet letter if you will,
marking him as different to all acquaintances intimate or otherwise in 19th-century
European society. Toulouse-Lautrec had no choice in the matter, since his short stature
“spoke for him” before he could even say a word. It visually communicated to the world
by default, making its first impression, before Toulouse-Lautrec the aristocrat, the artist
and the man had a chance to share his true genius.
The class structure of 19th century European society naturally marginalized Henri
de Toulouse-Lautrec for his physical ailment. Despite his noble privilege, he was
ostracized for his physical height, ridiculed for his short stature as it was viewed as a
freak of nature. Because of his physical differences, his peers denied him the opportunity
to be a legitimate member of the aristocracy and respectable citizen of bourgeois society.
This led to a general experience of alienation in such environments among his own class
4 4
throughout his lifetime. Eventually, this caused him to find refuge in bohemian society,
where his experience of exclusion paralleled that of other social outcasts which validated
his own rejection in terms of his class and its values. This movement away from his own
class transformed the focus of his art. The respectable subject matter that was once
expected of him by the aristocracy was unexpectedly replaced with the bohemian as
subject, an act seen as a disrespect to the establishment, including his own family. The
“noble lady” was replaced with the female entertainer, the prostitute and the lesbian; the
“noble gentleman” was replaced with the male anarchist, entertainer and homosexual;
while the natural outdoor landscape was replaced with the exotic indoor landscape of
bars, brothels and nightclubs.
In Parisian bohemian society, what was once marginalized became accepted and
what was once ostracized became included. The opportunity to belong as a member of a
society was now possible through his movement from the aristocracy to bohemia. His
legitimate membership in bohemian society negated his illegitimacy among the
establishment. Bohemia offered acceptance and inclusion of the outcast, such as himself,
that was otherwise refused elsewhere in 19th-century France. For Toulouse-Lautrec, his
greatest vengeful act of defiance was to abandon and betray the very establishment that
marginalized and ostracized him by becoming a bohemian outside the class structure
altogether—punishment for his own class’s abandonment and betrayal of him
Therefore, it is argued by Jonathan Wayne Stanley that his physical ailment was
not just another random note in an eccentric artist’s life, but instead, was the single key
note that determined his artwork and its subject matter as he paralleled himself with the
social outcast in bohemian Montmartre.
But, before any argument or discussion can be presented about his art as it relates
to the physical ailment, an introduction to the artist’s early beginnings and background
must be considered—when he was just Henri.
CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND & EARLY BEGINNINGS
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: An Artist is Born
Julia Bloch Frey in Toulouse-Lautrec: A Life (1994) tells us Henri Marie
Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Montfa (1864-1901) is the official name of one of the
most original modern avant-garde artists involved in the post-impressionist art movement
of 19th century Paris.1 Henri was born on November 24, 1864 in Albi, France at the
Hôtel du Bosc, 14 rue de l’École-Mage to his parents Comte Alphonse-Charles-Marie de
Toulouse-Lautrec Monfa and Comtesse Adèle-Zoë-Maire-Marquette Tapié de Céleyran.2
Henri’s parents were first cousins, a product of aristocratic inbreeding.3
When Henri was about three (Figure 2), he was given the nickname Petit Bijou
translated to mean “little gem” in French.4 Subsequently, he would continually be
referenced as Le Petit by others even in his adult life.5 Bébé, meaning “baby” was also a
term of endearment.6 Additionally, Henri was called Tapajou, roughly translated as
“rowdy,” a nickname given by his paternal grandfather.7 Petit Bonhomme meaning ‘little
fellow’ was a school nickname he had earned as well.8
Henri was an only child until he gained a younger brother three years later named
Richard-Constantine on August 28, 1867, who unfortunately died one night prior to his
1 Julia Bloch Frey, Toulouse-Lautrec: a Life (London: Published by Phoenix, an imprint of Orion
Books Ltd, 2007) 11.
2 Matthias Arnold, Toulouse-Lautrec (Slovakia: Taschen, 2016) 93.
3 Arnold, 93.
4 Arnold, 93.
5 Frey, 56.
6 Frey, 14.
7 Frey. 29.
8 Frey, 58.
6 6
Figure 2 - Henri at 3 in 1867 - Photograph (Credit: Source Julia Frey/No Copyright/PD-
old) commons.wikimedia.org
first birthday in Loury, France.9 Apparently the child was struck by “an epidemic of
intestinal disease, perhaps cholera in the region.”10 This tragedy once again left Henri as
the only child to Alphonse and Adèle.
Such circumstances changed the relational dynamics between Henri and his
parents and extended family.11 Perhaps his parents own marriage was also altered by
these same dynamics, since Alphonse and Adèle coincidentally (or probably not)
separated the same year Richard-Constantine died.12 Not surprisingly, their separation
created division rather than cohesion in regard to the dealings with their son Henri. Both
parents usually related with Henri independently. Often in disagreement with each other,
9 Frey, 26; 30-31.
10 Frey, 30.
11 Arnold, 93.
12 Arnold, 93.
7 7
usually they were unable to set aside their personal issues to come to an agreement to
satisfy Henri. This division between Alphonse and Adèle never ended and became
exceedingly more relevant over time as Henri’s life became more involved and
complicated with adulthood.
Alphonse de Toulouse-Lautrec: The Artist’s Father
The artist’s father, Alphonse, was devoted to all things unorthodox and eccentric.
Alphonse-Charles Comte de Toulouse-Lautrec (Figure 3) was a career officer in the
cavalry after he graduated from Saint-Cyr, one of the most prestigious military colleges
in France.13 Alphonse was seen as a renowned horseman in his regiment, reaching such
ranks as “second lieutenant in the mounted Lancers.”14
He had a striking physical presence of strong masculinity with a barrel-chest, full
black beard and the “hawkish” nose of his father.15 His dark features were lit up with
bright brown eyes, a physical trait he passed down to his artist son Henri.16 Expectedly
charming and intelligent for such a man of his family noble title and lineage, Alphonse
was nonetheless not without flaw.17 Despite all his French charm and rugged manliness
as a bachelor, ex-soldier, horseman and hunter, at times he could come off as
undisciplined, irresponsible and unaccountable, seemingly lacking the skills to plan for
the future or finish what he started.18 Military life obviously came with a high
expectation for these very traits Alphonse seemed to lack.19 So it came as no surprise
13 Frey, 11.
14 Frey, 11.
15 Frey, 11.
16 Frey, 11.
17 Frey, 11.
18 Frey, 11.
19 Frey, 11.
8 8
Figure 3 - Alphonse circa 1860 - Photograph (Credit: Source Julia Frey/No
Copyright/PD-old) commons.wikimedia.org
when he served “one hundred and thirty-two days in the guardhouse for offenses such as
sketching, frivolous tunes on his bugle and being out of uniform.”20 Alphonse, with all
his eclectic hobbies, eccentric personality traits and random unorthodoxy qualified
himself as the quintessential non-conformist.21
Prior to his marriage, Alphonse “lived a life of riding, racing and weekends in
Paris.”22 As a horseman, he was known to exhaust “three horses in a single day” in his
native countryside of Rouergat.23 He was also known to be a wanderer, disappearing for
20 Frey, 11.
21 Frey, 11.
22 Frey, 12.
23 Frey, 12.
9 9
long periods of time, followed by brief entrances of grandeur.24 Interestingly, Alphonse
was more attracted to working class women—servants who were beneath his own social
status—such as “barmaids and farm girls, who did not mix love into matters of
copulation.”25 At the time, most men of the 19th century by today’s standards were
chauvinistic and Alphonse represented this along with a strong criticism against the
clergy.26 He was once quoted as saying to his nephews wife, “Believe me it is better to
be a male toad than a female Christian.”27
Shortly after the birth of his son, Alphonse announced to his family the decision
to live full-time at a hunting lodge in Loury.28 While Henri was a toddler, Alphonse
turned his Loury bachelor lodge and attempted to turn it into a residence for Adèle, but it
soon failed to become home.29 After the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870,
Alphonse eventually abandoned Loury as it was suddenly occupied by Austrian lancer
soldiers and then weeks later pillaged by local townspeople.30 Loury was a place
Alphonse lived fulltime away from the rest of the family before he eventually gave it up
in 1874 to pursue other goals, like teaching Henri horse-riding.31 Nevertheless, before
these events, Loury to the north in the Loire Valley served as an exotic if not wild early
environment for Henri, specifically associated with his father’s personality and
24 Frey, 46.
25 Frey, 12.
26 Frey, 14.
27 Frey, 14.
28 Frey, 14.
29 Frey, 14-15.
30 Frey, 40.
31 Frey, 57.
10 10
lifestyle.32 Needless to say, “any attempt to escape family pressures was severely judged”
but Alphonse always prevailed.33
After Alphonse had well established himself as the absentee father, his young son
Henri began to form surrogate attachments to “any male figure of authority in the
vicinity,” two of which included a boat captain and a swimming teacher.34 Not too
surprisingly, he would cry when separated from them.35 It has been speculated that
Alphonse’s lack of bond and distance from Henri, even at birth, could have been a
father’s immediate and permanent response to abnormal offspring.36 Despite his own
eccentricities, Alphonse was “an expert judge of animal perfection.”37 As a father and
experienced trainer and breeder, Alphonse knew the consequences of inbreeding (both in
humans and animals) and possibly concluded at Henri’s birth, “There was something
wrong with the normally proportioned, but very small, baby.38 According to speculation,
“Alphonse’s abrupt disappearance” just days after his son’s birth and a “refusal to see the
child again for six months” argue of rejection, rather than general disinterest in
fatherhood.39 Frey notes and it has been speculated that competitive-athletic type fathers
show greater sensitivity “to any physical abnormality in a child, sometimes even before
the abnormality has been recognized.”40 Based on this theory and medical observation,
32 Frey, 14.
33 Frey, 15.
34 Frey, 43.
35 Frey, 43.
36 Frey, 23.
37 Frey, 23.
38 Frey, 23.
39 Frey, 23.
40 Frey, 23.
11 11
“it is not rare for the father to avoid contact with the child”—especially if a son.41 All of
these speculative and theoretical arguments could explain Alphonse’s detachment and
disappearance in Henri’s life based on such debate.
Henri soon “formed a dual opinion of Alphonse,” holding both resentment for his
father’s absence and yet fascination for his father’s mysterious glamour.42 Growing up
in the household, he could easily reflect on “his mother’s resentment of her inattentive
husband” as he witnessed her frustrations first hand.43 During his life, when explaining
his mother and father’s relationship, Henri at one point proclaimed, “my mother couldn’t
resist a pair of red riding trousers,” referring to his father’s seductive qualities as
horseman.44 Nevertheless, Henri’s own fascination could be explained, since despite
criticism, Alphonse often “excelled in what he personally admired.”45
Historically, Alphonse is credited for his son’s eccentricity in life; both men lived
up to the reputation of the Toulouse-Lautrec side of the family.46 Alphonse’s potential
for visual spectacle could both charm and outrage observers and regardless of his own
reasoning, he seemed to exist outside anyone’s expectations.47 One time at the Château
du Bosc during lunch, Alphonse greeted his fellow guests “dressed in a Scottish plaid
outfit with a ballet dancer’s tutu in place of the kilt,” a forecast of his son’s future with
exotic costumes.48 Alphonse along with two brothers (Charles and Odon) also had
41 Frey, 23.
42 Frey, 15.
43 Frey, 15.
44 Frey, 12.
45 Frey, 15.
46 Frey, 16.
47 Frey, 16-17.
48 Frey, 16.
12 12
artistic flair, known to paint animals, hunting scenes and open landscapes in mediums
such as watercolor—a case for a Toulouse-Lautrec artist gene.49
Alphonse was an animal lover.50 Though he hunted animals, he was still an
advocate for their preservation, where many times his unusual passion for animals
seemed to surpass his love for human beings.51 As a lover of the hunt (especially exotic
animals) and all things eccentric, it made perfect sense Alphonse would also be fond of
birds of prey such as “falcons, ospreys, hawks and owls.”52 One time, Alphonse paraded
through the streets of Paris in a high-wheeled carriage with a lady inside the
compartment.53 Outside several falcon and owl bird cages swung attached underneath the
rear axle, a spectacle many witnessed as his birds “got some fresh air” as justified by the
Falconer.54 Disappearing on his honeymoon in Nice and boarding a train to forget his
wife on the platform are just two other examples of outrageousness by Alphonse
throughout his life.55Alphonse even trained cormorant birds to hunt for fish in the
presence of his son, a hobby that would reappear in Henri’s life later.56 As Comte, one of
Alphonse’s official titles was indeed Falconer and an 1879 watercolor his son painted of
him with a falcon bird on hand corroborates this relationship (Figure 4).57
49 Frey, 45.
50 Frey, 15.
51 Frey, 15.
52 Frey, 16.
53 Frey, 16.
54 Frey, 16.
55 Frey, 16-17.
56 Frey, 68.
57 Frey, 80-81.
13 13
Figure 4 - The Falconer, Comte Alphonse circa 1881 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec -
Painting Oil on Board (No Copyright/Public Domain) http://www.the-
athenaem.org/art/detail/.php?ID=8762
It became apparent over time, “Alphonse used riding and hunting as a way of
escaping from things he didn’t wish to confront.”58 At one time, he told his son how the
horse, the hound and the hawk were precious companions to help one forget the
bitterness of life.59 One could easily describe Loury as a hunting lodge with deep
woods—a mysterious wilderness—where other hunters rode in on their horses and visited
him, dogs included.60 Alphonse stayed at Loury and was not present when Adèle gave
birth to their second (and eventually lost) son Richard at the Albi mansion in 1867.61
58 Frey, 14.
59 Frey, 14.
60 Frey, 21.
61 Frey, 26.
14 14
Even though he was absent at his birth, Alphonse did comfort his wife Adèle during the
loss of Richard contrary to his presumed selfishness.62
As husband, Alphonse received a $25,000 franc dowry paid to him directly in
installments as a benefit for his marriage to Adèle.63 Adèle’s installments of monthly
allowance were also directly paid to Alphonse.64 Alphonse created animosity in family
business and property decisions by making demands even though he neglected to address
the necessary details.65 Sometimes Alphonse tried to help in the domestic duties,
especially in the preparing and cooking of hunted game, but often it would lead to
resentment from others, such as Adèle.66 Alphonse was three years older than his wife,
another reason to question his lack of maturity, when it came to resolving adult family
matters.67
Finally, as a sign of what was to come, Alphonse was outraged at Henri’s first
“datable lithograph” poster Moulin Rouge, La Goulue (1891) (Figure 5), rejecting the
very artwork that began his son’s career as a famous artist in 19th century Paris.68
Alphonse, who Adèle usually called Alph, would continue to be distant, unpredictable
and even disloyal to their son as he established his own identity from the family.69
Eventually, from a distance, it would be solely up to Adèle to support Henri as an avant-
garde artist in Paris.
62 Frey, 31.
63 Frey, 35.
64 Frey, 35.
65 Frey, 35.
66 Frey, 20.
67 Frey, 12-13.
68 Frey, 294.
69 Frey, 11.
15 15
Figure 5 - Moulin Rouge, La Goulue circa 1891 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Color
Lithograph (No Copyright/Public Domain) http://www.athenaeum.org/art/
detail.php?ID=8842
16 16
Adèle de Toulouse-Lautrec: The Artist’s Mother
The artist’s mother, Adèle Comtesse de Toulouse-Lautrec (Figure 6), was a
conventional and devout Catholic, quite the opposite of Alphonse.70 Because of her
convictions, Adèle never saw divorce as an option to avoid her husband’s afflictions on
her or her son.71 Adèle was the classic religious Roman Catholic woman of the time,
sacrificing herself for the virtues of acceptance, children, devotion, duty, gravity,
modesty, piety, prayer, reservation and resignation.72 She was often referred to as a
Martyr.73 When challenged or upset, her shadow side could reveal itself as coldness,
sanctimony and silence.74 Nevertheless, in her martyrdom, Adèle was Henri’s lifeline.
She maintained her position as his number one supporter financially and otherwise,
another opposite to Alphonse.75
Over time, mother and child became friends and confidants, as Adèle disclosed
her own heart and soul to Henri, causing them both to learn to depend on each other,
especially since the roles of husband and father were missing and therefore unreliable.76
The comment “My mother couldn’t resist a pair of red riding trousers” could have been
an attempt to explain his mother’s own imperfections in life as she submitted to the
carnal temptation of his father’s equestrian valor, demonstrating her own human error.77
Vulnerable but committed, when her second son Richard passed, she struggled to keep
faith in God as a broken hearted mother, but relentlessly resigned herself to death as a
70 Frey, 13.
71 Frey, 19.
72 Frey, 13.
73 Frey, 13.
74 Frey, 13.
75 Frey, 33.
76 Frey, 33.
77 Frey, 12.
17 17
Figure 6 - Adèle circa 1860 - Photograph (Credit: Source Julia Frey/No Copyright/PD-
old) commons.wikimedia.org
cruelty in a sad world of sacrifice and pain, confessing, “but God has his views which are
not obscure like our own.”78
Out of the multiple family estates, Adèle seemed to prefer Hôtel du Bosc in Albi
when ready to give birth, where both her mother and Alphonse’s mother (the two oldest
sisters and grandmothers in the dynasty) could attend to her pregnancy.79 Adèle tried to
move in with Alphonse at Loury when Henri was just shy of two years old (ignoring the
divorce option), but ultimately she disliked the hunting lodge, despite her husband’s
efforts to welcome her.80 Later, Alphonse returned the favor of rejection to Adèle—by
78 Frey, 31.
79 Frey 10.
80 Frey, 20-21.
18 18
refusing to live at her newly bought estate Malromé—as it has been suggested he only
visited there twice in his lifetime.81
Adèle, probably due to her natural conservative posture, was “a meticulous
manager of household funds” independent of Alphonse.82 She would secretly receive
$4,000 franc supplement installments from her mother separate from the dowry and
allowance Alphonse benefited from her.83 Throughout her life, Adèle used money as a
means to retaliate against her seemingly frivolous husband and as a way to keep power
over her son Henri while he was living in Paris.84 Her mother Louise, (Henri’s
grandmother) would channel Adèle’s payments in the form of various supplements,
inheritances or extra monies.85 These payments were kept secret from Alphonse to
maintain Adèle’s independence from external influences.86
Because of Alphonse’s reckless reputation, Adèle learned to not trust him with
family business, inheritance, law, money, product, real estate or any other transaction
where consequences could be significant.87 Eventually her technique for handling family
transactions was to avoid Alphonse upfront, handling matters without a need to confront
him on his shortcomings altogether.88 Unfortunately, Adèle was left to rectify any
damage her husband’s character bestowed on family relatives, another virtuous act of
martyrdom on her part.89
81 Frey, 154-55.
82 Frey, 13.
83 Frey, 35.
84 Frey, 35.
85 Frey, 35.
86 Frey, 35.
87 Frey, 35.
88 Frey, 35.
89 Frey, 35-36.
19 19
To get a sense of the frustration and resentment Adèle must have felt toward her
husband, it is necessary to consider the Orléans, France episode that took place when
Henri was just a child.90 Alphonse had instructed his wife to bring Henri to the Orléans
train station so they could all travel together as a family to Paris.91 But due to her already
learned mistrust of Alphonse, she decided to bypass the Orléans instruction and travel
directly to Paris.92 When she finally arrived with Henri, she found her husband Alphonse
already in Paris.93 Without ever telling Adèle, he changed his travel plan and went
straight away to Paris, leaving her to proclaim to her mother, “If I’d listen to him…I’d
still be waiting in Orléans.”94 Yet, in the family, there was still a bizarre accepted
contradiction that Alphonse loved his wife and child despite such bizarre behavior.95 For
a young Henri, his father’s behavior along with his mother’s visible and verbal frustration
must have created a sense of unpredictability creating instability leading to feelings of
insecurity.
Another episode of mistrust occurred in the summer of 1866 between Adèle and
her husband Alphonse.96 Apparently some “transgression” at the hands of her husband
occurred at the wedding of first cousins, Alix and Amédée, Alphonse’s sister and Adèle’s
brother respectively.97 The exact offense itself was not specifically identified in family
letters of correspondence but it was referenced as a direct humiliation to Adèle and her
90 Frey, 16.
91 Frey, 16.
92 Frey, 16.
93 Frey, 16.
94 Frey, 16.
95 Frey, 18.
96 Frey, 19.
97 Frey, 19.
20 20
marriage to Alphonse.98 Henri was in the care of his paternal grandparents during the
time of the incident.99
Right after this incident, Adèle (perhaps in shock if not humiliation) decided to
immediately visit her mother and stayed for two months, neglecting to retrieve Henri at
Château du Bosc from Alphonse’s parents.100 Unfortunately her unexpected
disappearance of 1866 haunted Henri for the rest of his life as a lingering threat of
possible abandonment by his mother.101 And yet, despite her two month separation,
Adèle afterwards professed that her life was dedicated to her son, writing to her mother,
“My life is completely concentrated on him; this is what I’m thinking this evening by the
fire.”102
Adèle, cautious of the big city in comparison to the south of France, monitored
both her and Henri’s movements and activities in Paris.103 She refused taking the seasick
lift (elevator), ignored certain party invitations and forbid her son Henri to “make the
fifteen-minute walk to school unaccompanied” all after living more than two years in
Paris.104
Interestingly, Adèle’s forecast of potential danger in the big city might have been
quite keen, considering her and Henri were involved in a freak accident around March 20,
1883, walking in the streets of Paris.105 They were both unwittingly knocked to the
ground by a horse carriage, where Henri “was mostly bruised, but Adèle was badly
98 Frey, 19.
99 Frey, 19.
100 Frey, 19.
101 Frey, 19.
102 Frey, 23.
103 Frey, 58.
104 Frey, 58.
105 Frey, 152.
21 21
injured.”106 Later, after the fall, it was suggested Henri had a concussion to the head
while Adèle “developed a high fever, which caused the doctors to fear that she might
have peritonitis,” an inflammation of the abdomen.107
Henri, as devoted a son as she was a mother, attended her needs after the fall and
wrote to inform his uncle Amédée of Adèle’s recovery and disposition, giving thanks to
God they were both saved from such an accident.108 The next year, by October 1884,
despite their mutual closeness and many shared experiences, Henri lived in Paris alone
never to live with Adèle again.109
Ultimately, Henri and his mother Adèle had a love-hate relationship as each tried
to dominate the other.110 He would call her Maman to her face; while to her back it was
either Adèle or “my poor sainted mother.”111 Their tug-of-war battle would last a
lifetime, mainly focused around the pious versus bohemian lifestyles.
The Toulouse-Lautrecs: Royal Inbreeding, Noble Aristocracy & Family Estate
It might seem startling to contemporary society, but as early as the 19th century:
marrying kin (including cousins) was a common practice for royal families and noble
aristocrats to protect inherited assets and titles.112 F.C. Ceballos and G. Álvarez in Royal
Dynasties as Human Inbreeding Laboratories: The Habsburgs (2013), offer one of the
106 Frey, 152.
107 Frey, 152.
108 Frey, 152.
109 Frey, 165.
110 Frey, 80.
111 Frey, 6.
112 Frey, 11.
22 22
most documented examples of family inbreeding from 1450-1750 found in the Habsburg
Dynasty (House of Austria) of Europe, lasting for multiple generations.113
Historically, the tradition and practice of family inbreeding can be traced back as
far as ancient times amongst queens, kings, emperors and pharaohs. According to Russell
Middleton’s Brother-Sister and Father-Daughter Marriage in Ancient Egypt journal
article of 1962, inbreeding was a normal practice “to keep privilege and rank rigidity
within the group.”114 Traditionally, the practice of inbreeding was reserved for royal
monarchies and dynasties, but there have been cases of its practice among commoners as
well.115 Inbreeding has been found in the ancient Egyptian Pharaonic Period, Ptolemaic
Period and Roman Period (332 B.C to 324 A.D.) in both royal and commoner
families.116 Inbreeding has also been identified in both the Inca and Hawaiian cultural
civilizations as well.117 There are other examples of inbreeding practice that’s taken
place throughout the world, such as with the Toulouse-Lautrec’s in France.
The Toulouse-Lautrec family is comprised of Alphonse Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa
and Adèle Tapié de Céleyran family bloodlines. They originate “from a secondary branch
of one of the oldest and most prestigious families in France, the Toulouse Dynasty.”118 It
is a dynasty that “had ruled the regions of Toulouse and Aquitaine a thousand years”
prior to Henri’s birth.119
113 F C Ceballos and G Álvarez, “Royal Dynasties as Human Inbreeding Laboratories: the
Habsburgs,” Heredity 111, no. 2 (October 2013): pp. 114-121, https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.2013.25)
114 Russell Middleton, “Brother-Sister and Father-Daughter Marriage Ancient Egypt,” American
Sociological Review 27, no.5 (1962): p. 603, https://doi.org/10.2307/2089618) 603.
115 Middleton, 603.
116 Middleton, 603
117 Middleton, 603.
118 Frey, 24.
119 Frey, 24.
23 23
By Alphonse and Adèle marrying, they ensured “one’s mate had as noble a
bloodline as oneself” as it simultaneously “kept property and inheritances within the
family, instead of dispersing them.”120 Initially, the Toulouse-Lautrecs were monarchists,
believing in a noble family rule of aristocratic government rather than a Republic where
the governing power was held by the people.121
Likened to kings, the Counts of Toulouse (Figure 7) ruled an enormous part of
southern France which included Languedoc, Rouergue and Province regions, despite
wars and rivals over a timeline of five hundred years.122 Throughout these five hundred
years, the gene pool of the Counts of Toulouse produced leaders with the physical and
mental strength of famous heroes of valor.123
Figure 7 - Old Plate Illustrating the Penance of the Count of Toulouse in 1209 -
Photograph (Credit: Author TigH/No Copyright/Public Domain)
commons.wikimedia.org
120 Frey, 11.
121 Frey, 11.
122 Frey, 24.
123 Frey, 240.
24 24
Toulouse, Lautrec and Montfa are all names of southern geographical locations
adopted in Henri’s official family name where previous ancestors had been lords of each
corresponding named region, “an indication of the importance of his origins”124
Toulouse was known as a great city further south from Henri’s birthplace Albi, with the
small village of Lautrec, directly east while the commune-parish of Montfa, sat just a few
miles outside the Lautrec village boundaries.125
In French peerage, Alphonse and Adèle were Comte and Comtesse respectively,
equivalent to the noble English peerage titles of Count and Countess. Their sole male
child held the title of Vicomte (Viscount directly under Count Alphonse) where upon his
father’s death, the greater title would traditionally be inherited to the male heir next in
line, creating Comte Henri or more formally—the Comte (Count) of Toulouse-
Lautrec.126
The total income of the entire family (Toulouse-Lautrecs and Imbert du Boscs)
combined, was derived from “their properties, particularly from tenant farming and
vineyards.”127 No members in the family “worked for a salary,” but eventually all family
members would at times be called “to administer the family holdings” in some degree.128
Most, if not all of the noble titles were inherited by the Counts of Toulouse-Lautrec,
while the majority of Alphonse and Adèle’s wealth was inherited by the Imbert du Boscs
(Adèle’s family branch) which sustained their lifestyle and later their son’s in Paris.129
The Imbert du Boscs were Barons who had a natural inclination to accumulate chateaus,
124 Frey, 11.
125 Frey, 11.
126 Frey, 26.
127 Frey, 35.
128 Frey, 35.
129 Frey, 25.
25 25
lands, townhouses and vineyards like a business.130 Such accumulation can be seen in
the Toulouse-Lautrec large family estates Henri spent time throughout his life.
Château du Malromé, located outside of Bordeaux in the village of Saint-Macaire,
was a family estate where Adèle lived after purchased in 1883.131 It was the place her
artist son would eventually die in 1901.132 Malromé’s purchase was in response to
Phylloxera, an insect louse (grape lice) that had infested the vineyards at Ricardelle, a
property owned by Alphonse and Adèle.133 Adèle’s mother offered to purchase the
property for her daughter after the loss of Ricardelle.134 The artist Henri spent many
holidays at his mother’s château when he left Parisian Montmartre to go home to the
south of France according to Unpublished Correspondence of Henri De Toulouse-
Lautrec (1963) by Lucien Goldschmidt, and Herbert Schimmel.135
The Château du Bosc (Le Bosc for short) was the family estate which belonged to
Gabrielle du Bosc de Toulouse-Lautrec (Alphonse’s mother) Henri’s grandmother.136 It
was originally built like a fortress and was inherited from Gabrielle’s father, Henri’s
great-grandfather.137 Eventually, Alphonse “had decided to give up his heredity right”
and sold the red-shuttered Le Bosc to his sister and brother-in-law, Alix and Amédée.138
130 Frey, 25.
131 Frey, 154.
132 Frey, 154.
133 Frey, 138.
134 Frey, 138.
135 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Lucien Goldschmidt, and Herbert Schimmel, Unpublished
Correspondence of Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec 273 Letters by and about Lautrec... (London: Phaidon,
1969) 40-41.
136 Goldschmidt and Schimmel, 1969, 40-41.
137 Frey, 28.
138 Frey, 138.
26 26
They had consistently approached Alphonse to buy the estate since 1865.139 His final
compliance might have been persuaded by his own financial needs. In addition, at the
time, he seemed to want nothing to do with Le Bosc, preferring to reside at his hunting
lodge in Loury.140 Unfortunately, by Alphonse selling Le Bosc, he forfeited his right, “as
the eldest son and heir to the title of The Count of Toulouse-Lautrec,” which nullified his
own son’s ability to directly inherit the estate later.141
This act could have been seen as a partial disinheritance since it also negated his
son’s noble title.142 Henri was never even told of the sale of Le Bosc and only
discovered its loss in inheritance later in 1884.143 As Frey states, “by selling the property
that should have been his, his father had symbolically rejected him.”144 His expectation
to become the Count of Toulouse-Lautrec upon Alphonse’s death had been lost.145
Further, in 1894, when Henri was thirty years old, Alphonse “sold almost two thousand
five hundred acres” in the family countryside of Ricardelle in the south of France that
happened to be part of the main source of Henri’s annual income while living in Paris.146
Henri’s response was to take more control over his personal life by selling more of his
art.147
139 Frey, 138.
140 Frey, 138.
141 Frey, 313.
142 Frey, 392.
143 Frey, 138.
144 Frey, 138.
145 Frey, 138.
146 Frey, 393.
147 Frey, 393.
27 27
The Château de Céleyran was the family estate which belonged to Louise du Bosc
Tapié de Céleyran (Adèle’s mother) and Henri’s other grandmother.148 Similarly, this
family estate, known as Villa de César, was inherited by Louise from her father; Henri’s
other great-grandfather.149 The Château de Céleyran held early memories for Henri, a
place he spent many years during his child development.150 Céleyran also included
“three thousand five hundred acres of farmland and vineyards.”151 Louise, Adèle’s
mother, inherited this estate along with 7 more with the passing of her father.152 But,
unfortunately, due to poor health, Louise could no longer “maintain the estate” and it was
eventually sold off to strangers about 1884.153
Through the family transactions, Alphonse’s brother, Charles, inherited the Hôtel
du Bosc, the Albi townhouse, another estate of the Toulouse-Lautrec’s.154 This was the
home of Adèle’s great-aunt Joséphine d’Imbert du Bosc and the place Henri was born in
1864.155 By 1894, Alphonse eccentrically moved into the tall tower (Figure 8) of his
brother’s new townhouse when he found himself without a functional estate.156 This
unorthodox move was perhaps not so surprising since Alphonse was absent of both Loury
and Le Bosc by that time.
148 Goldschmidt and Schimmel, 1969, 40-41.
149 Frey, 26; 84.
150 Goldschmidt and Schimmel, 1969, 40-41.
151 Frey, 26.
152 Frey, 26.
153 Frey, 169.
154 Frey, 312-13.
155 Frey 14.
156 Frey, 313.
28 28
Figure 8 - The Hôtel du Bosc Tower where Alphonse Lived in 1894 - Photograph (Credit:
Author Krzysztof Golik/Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) No
Changes Made) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode
These Toulouse-Lautrec family estates played similar and yet different roles in
the life of the artist: as a birthplace, a childhood playground, an escape from Paris, a
place to die and even as a museum to commemorate his life.
Despite their separation, Alphonse and Adèle’s marital union granted them
personal power and control over centuries of inherited family estates and financial
resources. This ironically enabled their son to live a detached and removed bohemian
lifestyle free from the concerns of the aristocracy and bourgeoisie and the industrial
revolution’s workforce labor of 19th century Europe.
As detached and removed Henri became from his southern aristocratic roots,
Alphonse and Adèle with their family heritage, relationship dynamics and financial support,
undoubtedly played an influential role in shaping the life experiences of the artist until the
very end. For Henri, experiences that at times bred more resentment than gratitude.
29 29
The Move to Paris: Hôtel Peréy, Baccalauréat Exams & Formal Pursuit of Art
The family left Albi to live at the Hôtel Pérey in Paris by 1872, where Adèle
decided to send Henri to school in the city “for the first time in his life” just around eight
years old.157 The Hôtel Pérey was located at 5 cite du Retiro, near the rue du Faubourg,
Saint-Honoré and rue Boissy d’ Anglas in Paris.158 Over time, the Toulouse-Lautrecs,
including extended cousins, utilized the Hôtel Pérey as a family residence in Paris,
sometimes even occupying an entire floor in the hotel.159 The move to the Hôtel Pérey
was relevant, because this is when and where Henri became introduced to Paris and starts
to acclimate to an urban cosmopolitan metropolis, offering the potential for a new life.
The move to Paris was in the spirit to prepare and organize Henri’s future.160
From 1873 to 1876 he attended both primary (elementary) and secondary
(middle) schooling intermittently, including in July 1874 when he left to study under his
mother’s supervision.161 By or around May 11, 1876 he fulfilled (passed) these
educational stages when he was 12 years old.162 Under the French Napoleonic
Administration educational system, as described in Samira El Atia’s “From Napoleon to
Sarkozy: Two Hundred Years of The Baccalauréat Exam” (2008), Henri would then
prepare to pass his baccalauréat (bac for short), a national exam system first
implemented in 1808.163 The bac functions to complete French secondary education
157 Frey, 48-49.
158 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Herbert D. Shimmel, The Letters of Henri De Toulouse-
Lautrec (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Pr., 1991) 3.
159 Frey, 56.
160 Frey, 116.
161 Goldschmidt and Schimmel, 305.
162 Goldschmidt and Schimmel, 305.
163 Samira El Atia, “From Napoleon to Sarkozy: Two Hundred Years of TheBaccalauréatExam,”
Language Assessment Quarterly 5, no. 2 (2008): pp. 142-153, https://10.1080/15434300801934728) 142-
43.
30 30
while it also simultaneously determines entrance into higher-education.164 In France, the
‘bac’ was (and still is) equivalent to the high school diploma earned from a lycée
(equivalent to a high school) where in turn, a licence equates a university bachelor’s
degree.165 Candidates were given as little as one year to prepare to cover as much as 500
subjects.166 Therefore, in the 19th century, the bac was a grueling experience as it
required Henri to pass a comprehensive oral examination in breadths of math and science,
art and humanities and language such as French, Greek and Latin.167 In French society it
prestigiously signified the transfer from adolescence to adulthood.168 During this time
period, the secondary bac diploma “was an exclusively male and mostly aristocratic or
upper-middle class” privilege.169 Henri was expected to attain his; however, it required
such young men “to have the wealth and leisure not to work.”170 In Henri’s case, he met
the requirements and Adèle was pleased to learn many professors at the school were
“good Catholics,” as she attempted to avoid radicalism, atheism and liberalism in “the
state-run schools.”171
During his first attempt in July 1881, he failed the bac exam.172 By his second
attempt the following November, he “passed with flying colors.”173 Retaking the exam in
Toulouse seemed to pay off, perhaps a nod to his own namesake.174 Ultimately, the
164 El Atia,”Baccalauréat Exam,”142.
165 El Atia, “Baccalauréat Exam,” 142-153.
166 El Atia, “Baccalauréat Exam,” 146.
167 El Atia, “Baccalauréat Exam,”142-153.
168 El Atia, “Baccalauréat Exam,”144-45.
169 Frey, 60.
170 Frey, 60.
171 Frey, 60.
172 Arnold, 93.
173 Frey, 122.
174 Arnold, 93.
31 31
baccalauréat exam “was the gentleman’s proof of education” and Henri “was not
expected to go any further.”175 Adèle also had Henri involved in parochial education
while living in Paris, including church services, first communion, confessions, lent and
catechism.176 Adèle gave her explanation for her religiosity to her mother in regard to her
son, “make progress in the knowledge of God, so much more necessary than that of
school.”177
Henri himself wanted to pursue art and received general support from his
family.178 He especially had support from Alphonse and Adèle, who both saw their son’s
realistic capability to uphold tradition systematically diminish as he became older.179 To
the overall family, his art hobby at the time was seen as a distraction “from the physical
and psychological discomforts of his handicaps.”180 For Alphonse and Adèle—happiness
was their primary objective—for a son who “was not going to have many other options”
as he entered adulthood.181
The focus on an art career was the family’s direct response to Henri’s inability to
live the noble gentleman’s lifestyle full of riding, hunting, athletics and various other
competitive physical pursuits like his father.182 Hence, it was important then that Henri
do what was required to become a professional artist and make it his livelihood.
175 Frey, 116.
176 Frey, 58.
177 Frey, 58.
178 Frey, 116.
179 Frey, 116.
180 Frey, 116.
181 Frey, 116.
182 Frey, 116.
32 32
The Parisian Atelier: The Art Masters Princeteau, Bonnat & Cormon
Traditionally, aspiring artists would train in what was called an atelier (French for
workshop) under a more renowned if not famous artist who would instruct them on the
formalities of art practice. Often, this would lead to avant-garde art movements outside or
after the atelier as seen with the modern artists of the 19th century. According to The
Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms (2004) the atelier was defined as “an artist’s
studio or printmaker’s workshop,” there was also the atelier libre (free studio) where
there were no masters or tuition, only artists who shared fees and models.183 Art students
working in an atelier are known as rapins.184
The family, especially Alphonse and Adèle, was now left with the decision under
which atelier and master would Henri become a rapin. René Princeteau (1843-1920)
(Figure 9), a family friend was first. He already lived in Paris and even though born deaf
and dumb, he could lip-read and speak fluently with his own peculiar voice.185
Coincidentally, the artist was temporarily living at the Hôtel Pérey while his art studio-
atelier was being remodeled.186 Perhaps his parents thought privately that Princeteau
would be easier on Henri due to the art instructor’s own physical condition. By 1881 in
Paris, Princeteau began giving Henri “serious training” in the instructors atelier.187
Under his mentor Princeteau, Henri, got a glimpse and feel for the future lifestyle
he would live in Paris as an artist.188 He began to experience freedom via independence
as he would leave the Hôtel Pérey and walk the very short distance to Princeteau’s atelier
183 Edward Lucie-Smith, the Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms (NY, N.Y.: Thames &
Hudson, 2004) 24.
184 Frey, 131.
185 Frey, 56.
186 Frey, 56.
187 Frey, 117.
188 Frey, 117.
33 33
Figure 9 - Henri in between René Princeteau (Left) and Sculptor Félix Plessis (Right)
circa 1890 – Photograph (Credit: Author INJS Paris/No Copyright/Public Domain)
commons.wikimedia.org
34 34
without supervision.189 He began to experience extravagance by the absence of restriction,
as “Princeteau…was spoiling him rotten and even gave him the key to his studio as if he
were an equal” as described by Adèle.190 Further, under Princeteau, Henri began to
experience exoticism, as his first portrait was that of a monkey, a real live art model who
happened to eat a tube of paint during the process, which undoubtedly caused great humor
and spectacle for the young artist.191 In addition, under the guidance of a professional artist
like Princeteau, Henri learned the concept of art sales, commissions and the daily functions
of a “portrait artist’s atelier.”192
Over the course of their time together, Princeteau’s ability to “live normally
among normal people” despite physical handicap validated and encouraged Henri to
believe he too could assimilate.193 Although, later on as Henri moved from one atelier to
the next, he made disparaging comments about his original art mentor as if to justify his
own selfish pursuits.194 Still, Henri painted more than one portrait of Princeteau, as the
instructor wore his signature frock coat and top hat (Figure 10).
At one time, as a testament to Henri’s progress, Princeteau along with the art
critic Arsène Alexandre both commented on the challenge to discern the master’s art
sketches from his own pupil’s work.195 Princeteau even stated the young artist’s ability
to copy his own work “gave him cold chills.”196 Eventually, Princeteau realized he had
189 Frey, 117.
190 Frey, 117.
191 Frey, 117.
192 Frey, 118.
193 Frey, 117.
194 Frey, 142-43.
195 Frey, 116-18.
196 Frey, 118.
35 35
Figure 10 - René Princeteau in his Studio circa 1881-1882 – Oil on Canvas (Credit:
Author Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec 1864-1901/Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
(CC BY-SA 4.0) No Changes Made) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
sa/4.0/legalcode (Source: http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=8773)
commons.wikimedia.org
taught Henri everything he knew and suggested the young artist “move on to other
teachers.”197 Henri continued to remain in contact with Princeteau years later.198
By 1882, the decision was made Henri would continue his training under the artist
Léon Bonnat (1833-1923).199 After speaking to Bonnat, both Princeteau and Henri
Rachou (1855-1944) arranged introductions between the prospective student and the
famous teacher.200 Rachou was an acquaintance of the Toulouse-Lautrec’s and indeed
played a role along with Princeteau in convincing Bonnat to take on Henri as a
197 Frey, 118.
198 Frey, 235-236.
199 Frey, 124.
200 Frey, 126.
36 36
student.201 Rachou was also an artist at Bonnat’s and would befriend Henri as they both
worked in the atelier.202
This decision was greatly supported by Alphonse and Adèle, since Bonnat was
“one of the most famous portrait painters in France” and “the favourite painter of
millionaires.”203 Through his parents’ social connections and the Toulouse-Lautrec
lineage Henri was eventually issued a slot into Bonnat’s atelier.204
Art innovators such as the Impressionists were of no concern to Bonnat.205 He
saw them as humbugs, revolutionaries, upstart frauds and troublemakers “who were
trying to discredit the good name of art.”206 Bonnat was loyal to the conventional and
traditional formalities of French painting, based on the overall canon of fine arts.207 To
Bonnat, calculation of proportions, precision in draughtsman-ship and technical
accuracies signified the creation of real art.208 At the time, artists such as the
Impressionists were setting out to dismantle Bonnat’s very definition of art and Henri
would soon be one of them. Henri’s future asymmetrical matte compositions of risqué
personal friends would soon contrast Bonnat’s own perfectly finished glossy portraits of
his rich and famous clients.209
201 Frey, 134.
202 Frey, 134.
203 Frey, 124-25.
204 Frey, 126.
205 Frey, 125.
206 Frey, 126.
207 Frey, 125-26.
208 Frey, 125-26.
209 Frey, 328-29.
37 37
Henri continued to gain more independence as an artist from family since the
atelier was “off-limits to anyone but Bonnat’s students.”210 As a beginning rapin under
Bonnat, an art student would create drawings of the human body (often from engravings),
specifically limbs and appendages (ears, feet, genitals, hands and noses) then progress up
to full human heads and bodies, including plaster casts.211 After proven skill, the student
would move to “figure drawings from nude models in classic poses” known as académies
which would lead into painting.212
Henri’s fellow art students witnessed his struggle as he tried to conform to the
expectations of Bonnat.213 Under Bonnat and his academia, it was apparent his rough
sketch and loose paint was forsaken for precise accuracy and more rigidity.214 In
addition, it seemed the confidence he gained with Princeteau was being challenged,
explaining his somewhat loss of control in art medium under Bonnat.215 Interestingly,
Henri’s work became darker under Bonnat compared to his work under Princeteau.216
After training under Princeteau and Bonnat, Henri’s next and last art instructor
would be Fernand Piestre Cormon (1854-1924) (Figure 11).217 Cormon was another
successful artist known for famous academic paintings shown at the Luxembourg and
other prestigious Salons and exhibitions throughout Paris.218 Cormon was used to
having many art pupils, however, for the first time, while Henri studied under him, he
210 Frey, 128.
211 Frey, 133.
212 Frey, 133.
213 Frey, 133.
214 Frey, 130.
215 Frey, 130.
216 Frey, 130.
217 Frey, 140.
218 Frey, 140-41.
38 38
would open his first atelier, graciously accepting any of Bonnat’s protégés, including
Rachou.219 Henri mechanically wrote a letter to Alphonse, seeking a blessing to study at
Cormon’s atelier, yet the decision had already been confidently made without his father’s
consent.220
Figure 11 - In Cormon's Atelier: Cormon himself at the Easel in Front; Henri to the
Front Left of Cormon in Hat circa 1885 - Photograph (Credit: Henri Perruchot/No
Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikipedia.org
Like Bonnat, Cormon was considered an academic painter, and even though not
an Impressionist, he “belonged to a more liberal and popular group of painters who were
219 Frey, 141.
220 Frey, 140-41.
39 39
known as the juste milieu” that incorporated both academic and avant-garde elements.221
The phrase juste milieu, a reference to the middle or medium, demonstrated a blend of
traditional and modern painting.222 Cormon’s students immediately recognized the
group’s artistic liberation, especially Henri, since he must have still been recuperating
from Bonnat’s strict academic atelier.223 The majority of the radical and revolutionary
Impressionist painters had already experienced “the strict tradition of academic training”
that Henri was experiencing.224
Similar to Bonnat, Cormon’s atelier was grounded in the laws and perspective of
the Renaissance: the light and shade technique of chiaroscuro, the classical pyramid
design of a composition and the realistic depiction of natural elements like earth and
water.225 In addition, Cormon essentially followed the same classical rules and practice
of Bonnat when it came to drawing as it progressed to painting.226
But Cormon “was far more flexible than Bonnat in what he would accept as
appropriate atelier painting style.”227 In addition to being more artistically liberated,
Cormon was also “younger and more personable than Bonnat.”228 The new teacher’s
atelier was not far away from Bonnat’s and similarly he had a reputation for “producing
good artists” and for winning commissions and selling his art to the French
government.229 Cormon’s own art depicted an interest in biblical, historical, scientific
221 Frey, 141.
222 Frey, 141.
223 Frey, 141.
224 Frey, 141.
225 Frey, 143-44.
226 Frey, 143-44.
227 Frey, 144.
228 Frey, 141.
229 Frey, 141.
40 40
and archeological subject matter, where he curiously painted landscapes filled with
attractive “adolescent models dressed in animal skins and working with primitive
tools.”230 His direct, steady, unpretentious personality was well liked by Henri and the
other students in the atelier.231 Further, unlike Bonnat, Cormon had the ability to let his
guard down with his students, involving them in his own private jokes and sense of
humor.232
Henri along with as much as thirty rapins would begin painting every morning in
Cormon’s atelier.233 The atelier was filled with metal armor, textile embroideries, copies
of masterpieces and even religious icons.234 These objects were still-life props or at the
very least inspiration. Two times a week, Cormon would visit each student at their easel
to give his own critiques.235 It was also at Cormon’s atelier where Henri would compete
in the prestigious concours des places competition among fellow rapins leading to
possible admission for the best into the Ecole des Beaux Arts.236
Working under Cormon and his group of rapins, Henri more than likely began
experimenting with the avant-garde style and approach that would later characterize his
future painting.237 Besides his classical training inside the atelier, Cormon specifically
suggested and encouraged his art students to go outdoors, to “work from nature.”238 It
was this exact practice of painting outdoors in nature, en plein air, which was a
230 Frey, 142.
231 Frey, 142.
232 Frey, 142.
233 Frey, 142.
234 Frey, 142.
235 Frey, 142.
236 Frey, 172.
237 Frey, 141.
238 Frey, 144.
41 41
trademark of the Impressionists of the time (although en plein air did also exist in
academic painting).239
According to Rachou, Cormon’s permission to explore and wander outside the
confines of the atelier, significantly inspired Henri.240 The explorations led to a
continued growth in “independent identity, from both his family and from his training”
which “kept him from feeling philosophically bound to observe the limits of classical
taste.”241 Not to mention, at Cormon’s atelier, due to limitations of electricity in Paris,
the art students made it a practice to peruse the streets “after nightfall, unless one liked
the way gas lighting and oil lamps coloured the canvas.”242
These circumstances also led to Henri’s discovery of the surrounding bars with
their various forms of drink (including absinthe), all of which could have arguably been
first steps toward his connoisseurship of alcohol.243 The Parisian café, specifically in
Montmartre, offered these artists an arena to share and discuss thoughts and ideas with
other artists, including famous painters like Monet, Renoir, and Degas.244 The café was
easily accessible and after the purchase of simply one drink, participation in these endless
conversations was possible.245 During these intellectual discussions in the café
environment, such artists who gathered also exchanged vital social contacts and
information, otherwise unattainable, since they often worked in isolation.246
239 Frey, 144.
240 Frey, 144.
241 Frey, 144-45.
242 Frey, 150.
243 Frey, 145.
244 Frey, 150.
245 Frey, 150.
246 Frey, 150.
42 42
Subsequently, these cafes eventually became art galleries.247 As café owners and artist
regulars collaborated, it inevitably led to artwork displayed on the walls of the café,
serving the dual purpose of both establishment décor and artist promotion.248
Finally, a development of revolution among Cormon’s rapins dissolved the atelier
Henri resided at the longest.249 There was a sense of rebellion as “Cormon’s authority as
an academic artist” was being questioned by his students.250 It seemed money matters
had also played a role since Cormon was found to be “despondent and penniless.”251
These conditions led the rapins to distance themselves from the atelier and pursue other
opportunities to forward their art.252 Despite the troubled atelier, Henri still attempted to
work there but quickly followed the same pattern as his fellow rapins and eventually left
Cormon’s.253 Cormon decided to officially close his atelier shortly after he personally
won the prestigious Médaille d’Honneur at the Salon in 1877.254 Henri’s formal art
training was over.
Bohemian Montmartre Paris: Toulouse-Lautrec’s New Home
Once Henri accomplished the expected social formalities of earning a formal
prestigious French gentleman’s education and working in various ateliers throughout
Paris, he quickly settled into a more custom avant-garde art platform. The artist was
driven to find a platform that would offer more than what he had already experienced
247 Frey, 150.
248 Frey, 150-51.
249 Frey, 214-16.
250 Frey, 170.
251 Frey, 214.
252 Frey, 214-15.
253 Frey, 215.
254 Frey, 221-22.
43 43
within the formal establishment’s hierarchal aristocracy of the 19 th century. The
bohemian community of Montmartre (Figure 12) nestled in the city of Paris and its
discovery by the artist was paramount in this platform development. It was here in this
community; Henri was free to work as an autonomous artist, finally removed from the
influencing forces of family aristocracy, the educational institution and overall
establishment. This new found freedom offered the artist a greater level of acceptance
and inclusion that was only found within the confines of Montmartre.
Figure 12 - Paris Montmartre, Boulevard de Clichy and the Moulin-Rouge circa 1900 -
Photograph (Photo taken a year before Henri’s death) (No Copyright/Public Domain)
commons.wikimedia.org
Montmartre, the butte, sits upon a hill to the north in the city of Paris. With an
elevation of almost 500 feet above sea level, it holds a history of over 500 artists, inspired
by hundreds of acres of French village, creating “a mecca of modern art” from 1860 to
44 44
1920.255 One of its signature landmarks is the Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur (Sacred Heart),
“erected at the end of the 19th century,” representing the gateway entrance to the
Montmartre quarters.256 Visitors must essentially climb 270 steps up to the Basilica in
order to reach the entrance of Montmartre.257 Ironically, Montmartre physically looks
down upon the city of Paris with elevated views, even though during the modern art
movement, it was the city itself that “looked down” on Montmartre socially and
culturally for its non-conforming reputation of local outcasts. Still today, the Basilica’s
pious presence dramatically contrasts the account of Montmartre’s (the Mount of
Martyrs) reputation to Parisians and the rest of the world.258
The greatest historical event that established the outcast society of Montmartre
was the rebuilding of Paris. Emperor Napoleon III (1808-1873) the nephew of Napoleon
Bonaparte (1769-1821), had a vision for a new Paris.259 The French Baron Georges-
Eugène Haussmann (1809-91) under the Monarch of Napoleon III devised new plans for
the city.260 These new plans, along with Haussmann and Emperor Napoleon III’s
collaboration, turned a compacted populous, restricted road system and tight corridor city
into a modern urban metropolitan with international flair.261 Open spaces, wide roads,
gardens, parks, tree-lined avenues along with classical elements and aesthetics of beauty
defined the new city of Paris.262 More importantly, new water supplies and drainage
255 Sylvie Buisson and Christian Parisot, Paris Montmartre: a Mecca of Modern Art, 1860-1920
(Paris: Terrail, 2004) 20.
256 “Montmartre, “The Mount of Martyrs,” Basilique du Sacré Cœur de Montmartre, last
modified February 17, 2016, accessed March 6, 2020, http://www.sacré-coeur-montmartre.com/english/.
257 “The Mount of Martyrs”, sacré-cœur-montmartre.com.
258 “The Mount of Martyrs”, sacré-cœur-montmartre.com.
259 Frey, 184.
260 Frey, 184-85.
261 Frey, 184.85.
262 Frey, 185.
45 45
systems allowed for the removal of foul odors from waste within city limits, greatly
increasing public health and sanitation as well as leisure and pleasure.263 With the
physical restructuring of the city and the overwhelming entrance of the privileged
wealthy, the depraved inhabitants were pushed to the outer limits of the city borders.264
This outsider circumference was referred to as the zone, empty of what Haussmann and
Napoleon III’s new city had to offer the leisured class.265
The quarters of Montmartre sat within the perimeters of the zone or la ceinture
rouge (the red belt) where sewer was exposed and there was no running water.266 This
physical restructuring of Paris explains the social and cultural construction of
Montmartre’s outer limit community of depraved outcasts.
Such outcasts in Montmartre included cancan dancers, prostitutes, political-
criminal anarchists, homosexuals and the avant-garde artist. These and various other
individuals deemed risqué found refuge in bohemian society. They were the residents of
19th-century Montmartre Paris. At times, outsiders would come to witness the spectacle
of the outcasts. These visitors were sometimes fellow outcasts from different parts of the
world (like Oscar Wilde), but commonly, they were visitors from mainstream Parisian
society, coming up the hill to partake in that which was considered “unacceptable” in
their own communities. As like Henri did with his family and fellow rapins.267 After all,
Montmartre was not just a residential enclave; it was a source of provocative
entertainment. Henri personally enjoyed this entertainment and like many artists, found it
a source of artistic inspiration.
263 Frey, 185.
264 Frey, 185.
265 Frey, 185.
266 Frey, 185.
267 Frey, 4-5.
46 46
In 19th-century Montmartre, one found an eclectic mix of bohemian
establishments including bars, restaurants, theatres, cabarets and dance halls, art studios
and galleries, circuses and even brothels. It was these unconventional establishments that
ignited both the thrill and disdain towards Montmartre, depending of what posture you
held in regard to its existence.
Nevertheless, famous entertainment venues such as Le Moulin de la Galette
(Figure 13) Le Chat Noir Aristide Bruant’s Le Mirlion and Le Moulin Rouge were crowd
attractions sustaining and promoting the fame of Montmartre.268
Figure 13 - Paris Montmartre Le Moulin de la Galette circa 1885 – Photograph (Credit:
Source Julia Frey/No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikipedia.org
268 Frey, 148-259.
47 47
The presence of prostitutes reveals that sex too was part of the entertainment in
Montmartre. Flourishing prostitutes and the brothels that housed them were easily
identifiable in the bohemian community for passersby to locate.269 As time revealed,
prostitution and brothels became an everyday facet in Henri’s art career and personal life
on the butte.
Perhaps the scenic views, nightlife, evening lights, towering windmills and
specific glamour of the Moulin Rouge captivated other aristocratic visitors temporarily,
but for Henri, his own enchantment was permanent. He had multiple addresses in
Montmartre throughout his life. He lived at Nos. 19 and 21 Rue Fontaine (1884 to 1891)
and 21 Rue Caulincourt (1886) holding two different art studios simultaneously in the
quarters.270 Finally, his last apartment in risqué Montmartre was 5 Avenue Frochot
(1897).271
To his apparent delight, after an apprentice life of aristocratic upbringing, formal
education and art training, while facing multiple stages of physical pain and suffering, he
had ingratiated himself into an alternative bohemian social community and culture. Henri
was now fully invested in the newly discovered Montmartre, calling it home. This is the
place and time where Henri becomes the famous Parisian modern artist known for his
avant-garde drawings, post-impressionistic paintings and art nouveau quality lithographic
posters of 19th century Paris.
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Physical Ailment: Discovery, Symptoms, Progression and Prognosis
Poignantly, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s physical ailment had its own dark past
before the noble aristocrat was free to chase his own future as an artist. In 1865, when
269 Frey, 131.
270 Goldschmidt and Shimmel, 1969, 120.121.
271 Schimmel, 342-343.
48 48
Henri was six month old, Adèle weighed him in at ten pounds and six ounces,
commenting, “a fair weight for a baby…or a turkey.”272 According to Adèle,” his first
words were ba-ba “and finally at seventeen months Henri “took his first steps.”273
Perhaps not so unusual, but this perceived long delay in walking development was
enough for a worrisome mother to notice.274 Little did she realize it would be his height
(short stature) (Figure 14) as the marker of his condition, not his weight necessarily.
Figure 14 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec circa 1892 - Photograph (Photographer: Paul
Sescau) (No Copyright/PD-old) commons.wikimedia.org
272 Frey, 18.
273 Frey, 18.
274 Frey, 18.
49 49
By May of that same year and age, there was also first sign indication there might
be something “abnormal about his physical development.”275 M. Seguin, a family doctor,
made observations of Henri’s foot, “warning them that it shouldn’t be neglected.”276 The
insinuation was that whatever concern the doctor expressed about the physical issue of
the toddler’s foot was innate and not due to an environmental injury, since Henri hadn’t
began to walk yet.277 Throughout his childhood, such observations by professionals
would make Adèle anxious and leave her to instinctually feel “that all was not quite
right” with young Henri.278 It is worth noting, during provincial 19th-century France,
most families (including wealthy) did not call upon a doctor unless they believed it
absolutely necessary.279
Adèle used Quinine, (a drug for malaria) to treat Henri’s “terrible sinus
headaches” which were possibly connected to his nearsightedness, but eventually
corrected with pince-nez glasses by adolescence.280 Henri’s headaches could reach a
level of severity to wake him up crying in the middle of the night.281 His entire life,
Henri had “terrible toothaches” which “may not have been caused by decay at all, but by
pressure from his sinus cavities” as they developed and malformed with age.282 Henri
had developed chronic sinus trouble and spoke with a characteristic lisp.283 Throughout
275 Frey, 18.
276 Frey, 18.
277 Frey, 18.
278 Frey, 18.
279 Frey, 18.
280 Frey, 77.
281 Frey, 77.
282 Frey, 59.
283 Frey, 77.
50 50
his life he seemed to have “frequent colds and a continuous runny nose.”284 He learned
to cope with a “postnasal drip caused by his misshapen sinus cavities” by “interrupting
his speech with a repetitive sniff” during conversation.285 This was a physical ‘tic’ that
undoubtedly would have impacted other’s perception of him. During the 19th century,
formal dentistry was feasible to only extract a rotten tooth beyond repair while “a
toothpick and a glass of water” was left to define personal oral hygiene besides a
toothbrush.286 Anyone who had a complex dental or hygienic condition involving the
sinuses would probably not be quick to find an easy resolution. In addition to toothaches,
Henri would also complain about cramps, sore joints and general mal-developed
bones.287 Hence, it was not uncommon for him to walk with a cane throughout his life
and it actually became one of his trademarks as often portrayed in pop culture.288
After everything she and Henri had experienced, Adèle was coming to terms with
the realization that “her son’s walk was far from perfect,” since Henri still had “continued
muscular weakness and occasional injuries” along with “shooting pains…making it
almost impossible to walk.”289 In the meantime, Henri hated the continued restraints,
precautionary measures taken to protect his fragility, and the inability to play with other
children.290 As time progressed, he was unable to finish a full day of instruction with a
tutor or at the Lycée School as “his physical condition was deteriorating noticeably.”291
284 Frey, 52.
285 Frey, 77.
286 Frey, 59.
287 Frey, 58.
288 Frey, 77.
289 Frey, 70.
290 Frey, 70.
291 Frey, 70.
51 51
Adèle labeled Henri’s attacks of pain or immobility as sprains.292 Some of his attacks
were so serious, such as knee pain, it had the power to prevent him from walking at
all.293 Without any clear diagnosis, Toulouse-Lautrec’s condition (whatever it happened
to be) was taking its natural course of development.294 Unfortunately, the prognosis was
a development of a—disorder, infirmity, syndrome, malady—causing advancing bone
fractures, pain and suffering.
There are significant disagreements (including outright contradictions) as to what
Toulouse-Lautrec suffered from as it relates to an official medical diagnosis. Henri never
received a clear diagnosis in regard to his physical ailment; rather he only received casual
suggestion, speculative opinion and therapeutic treatment from others as to address the
symptoms which resulted from his condition throughout his life.295 Including him,
family, friends and health professionals were all attempting to alleviate if not cure his
physical ailment’s symptoms. It is even plausible to speculate that curious strangers
approached Henri in public, offering their own take on his daily struggle, especially if he
was showing visible signs of symptomology.
According to a 2013 journal of medical humanities by William R. Albury and
George M. Weisz, a French physician by the name of Robert Weisman-Netter from the
1950’s was apparently first to mention the condition suffered by Toulouse-Lautrec.296 In
the 1960’s, two French physician doctors M. Lamy and P. Maroteaux were famously first
to officially diagnose the physical ailment the artist suffered from as a case of
292 Frey, 70.
293 Frey, 70.
294 Frey, 70-71.
295 Frey, 70-71.
296 William R. Albury and George M. Weisz, “Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and medicine: A
triumph over infirmity,” Hektoen International, January 25, 2017, accessed February, 24, 2020,
https://hekint.org/2017/01/25/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec-and-medicine-a-triumph-over-
infirmity/?highlight=triumph%20over%20infirmity.
52 52
pycnodysostosis.297 Lamy and Maroteaux are accredited for naming the disease and over
time it has also been referred to as Toulouse-Lautrec Syndrome.298 The medical term
pycnodysostosis along with its alternate spelling—pyknodysostosis—derives from Greek
origin etymology (pycno=dense, dys=defective, ostosis=condition of bone).299
Genetically speaking, the defective proteins or enzymes are Cathepsin K, while the
defective gene or genes at the chromosomal location is CTSK (1q21).300
Pycnodysostosis is a recessive disorder, meaning “the defective gene must be passed on
by both parents in order for the condition to appear in their child.”301
Categorized today within the medical field of pediatrics, pycnodysostosis is a
lysosome disorder with an onset of the genetic disease taking place in early childhood.302
A lysosome is one of the organelles in the cell body responsible to breakdown cellular
debris.303 A disorder is a deficiency in the enzymes which allows for the accumulation of
this cellular debris.304 This accumulation becomes toxic to the body and can cause
damage to cells and organs.305 A suspicion and probable diagnosis of pycnodysostosis is
apparent if the sclera (the white of the human eye) is pigmented blue during physical
examination.306 Such blue pigmentation is attributed to a “deficiency in connective tissue
297 Frey, 71.
298 Albury and Weisz, 1.
299 Albury and Weisz, 1.
300 Robert S. Porter et al., The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy (Kenilworth, NJ: Merck
Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co. inc., 2018) 2684.
301 Albury and Weisz, 1.
302 The Merck Manual, 2684.
303 “What Are Lysosomal Storage Disorders?”, WebMD, accessed, April 10, 2020,
https://www.webmd.com/children/what-are-lysosomal-storage-disorders#1
304 WebMD, Lysosomal.
305 WebMD, Lysosomal.
306 The Merck Manual, 2480.
53 53
allowing underlying vessels to show through” which can be detected even in infancy.307
Bone sclerosis (hardening) can already be seen on typical x-rays by early childhood.308
Individuals who share the genetic disease can usually resemble each other with a
recorded short stature less than or equal to 5 feet.309
Additional identifying clinical features of pycnodysostosis are: frontal and
occipital (back) head prominence (such as a visibly enlarged skull with cranium bulges);
a delayed closure of the anterior (front) head fontanel; micrognathia (undersized lower
jaw); narrow palate (roof of the mouth); delayed eruption and persistence of deciduous
teeth (baby teeth); hypodontia (developmental absence of teeth); aplasia (failure of
normal organ/tissue development or functionality); hypoplasia of clavicle bone
(shortened development); osteosclerosis (abnormal hardening of bone with increase in
bone density); susceptibility to repeated bone fractures; scoliosis (sideways curvature of
the spine); spondylolysis (defects/fractures in vertebrae); brachydactyly (shortening of
fingers and toes) and grooved or dystrophic (malformed or discolored) nails.310 Hands
and feet can be short and broad with rudimentary (short to non-existent) distal phalanges
(tips of fingers and toes) as well (Figure 15).311 Clavicles can also show signs of gracile
(abnormally thinned with possible curvature).312 There is often hypoplasia in both the
facial bones and parasinuses while the mandible lower jaw line reflects a more obtuse
(larger than 90 degrees) angle than normal.313 In addition many who suffer from the
307 The Merck Manual, 2480.
308 The Merck Manual, 2480.
309 The Merck Manual, 2480.
310 The Merck Manual, 2480; 2684.
311 The Merck Manual, 2480.
312 The Merck Manual, 2480.
313 The Merck Manual, 2480.
54 54
genetic malady will exhibit a small face and a receding chin as further identifying
markers.314
Figure 15 - Typical finding of Short to Non-Existent Distal Phalanges in pycnodysostosis
shown in both Flesh (Photo) and X-ray. A pycnodysostosis Hand (Center X-ray) is
compared to a Hand with Normal Distal Phalanges (Far Right X-ray). Flattened and
Grooved Nails are also visible as seen in Flesh Hands. (Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) No Changes Made/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
(Source: PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24767306) https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Panel-A-Typical-finding-of-acro-osteolytic-distal-phalanges-on-X-rays-and-wrinkled-skin_fig1_261916458
Since such core features can present themselves in various ways (internally or
externally), it is possible for individuals with the same genetic disease to suffer
differently and seek treatment differently. The recommended treatment for
pycnodysostosis is more than likely a lifetime requirement of supportive care with the
314 The Merck Manual, 2480.
55 55
possible consideration of hormone therapy.315 In more extreme cases of pycnodysostosis,
plastic surgery “has been used to correct severe deformities of the face and jaw.”316
Interestingly enough, even though there are vast claims that Toulouse-Lautrec did
suffer from an undiagnosed case of pycnodysostosis, Julia Frey questions such a
diagnosis.317 The author does refer to the form of supposed dwarfism Henri had
developed as a genetic disease, but without giving it the pycnodysostosis or Toulouse-
Lautrec Syndrome label.318 Frey argues that both physicians based their diagnosis of
Henri on “caricatures he had drawn of himself rather than on the numerous accurate
photographs of him which still exist.”319
While avoiding a clear alternative diagnosis, Frey claims that Henri’s case was
mild in comparison to more crippling and permanent cases numerous other relatives
suffered due to genetic inbreeding.320 Some examples are Henri’s godchild, Kiki, who
needed crutches to walk and her sister, Fidès—who never walked—confined to a wicker
basket her entire life.321 There was also Madeleine, a cousin Henri loved to impersonate,
who joined in the pain and suffering through her own legs.322 Yet, even though there is
debate as to Henri’s official diagnosis of pycnodysostosis, there is no debate from those
who knew him personally, treated him professionally or studied him academically that he
suffered on-going physical pain throughout his life. Pain is really what his physical
ailment represented his entire life—despite the diagnosis. Still, many have proclaimed
315 The Merck Manual, 2684.
316 The Merck Manual, 2480.
317 Frey, 71.
318 Frey, 71.
319 Frey, 71.
320 Frey, 71.
321 Frey, 71.
322 Frey, 71.
56 56
pycnodysostosis as the answer to Henri’s physical ailment and its painful suffering, even
though Frey’s open-ended rebuttal continues to leave room for speculation.
Nevertheless, some have professed that Henri continually wore a hat to cover-up
an open “soft-spot” fontanelle (including possible unfused sutures) which are known
characteristics of pycnodysostosis (Figure 16).323 However, it is worth noting there are
photographs of him with no hat at all (see Figure 1). It has also been suggested that he
kept a thick beard to disguise the visible pycnodysostosis facial trait of a deformed
mandible.324 Further, it has been pointed out there is probable pycnodysostosis evidence
in his hands upon close analytical inspection of multiple photographs of the artist.325
Figure 16 - A Human Skull at Birth showing both front and back “Open Fontanels”
(Fontanelles) with corresponding Cranial Sutures circa drawing before 1858 (No
Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
323 Albury and Weisz, 1.
324 Albury and Weisz, 1.
325 Albury and Weisz, 1.
57 57
According to Albury and Weisz, it ultimately cannot be determined what
Toulouse-Lautrec officially suffered from since there were no x-rays of his skeletal bone
system while he lived, no autopsy after his death and thus far, no exhumation of his
remains, utilizing the advancement of modern studies to come to a final conclusion.326 In
addition to pycnodysostosis, various other medical conditions such as osteopetrosis and
melorheostosis (both bone diseases) including blood disease have been suggested to have
comprised Henri’s physical ailment.327 The debates around the mysterious possibilities
of Henri’s physical ailment only adds more mystique to the artist’s legacy today.
During his adolescence, Henri suffered two significant leg fractures. He broke
both of his femurs on two separate occasions, just a little over a year apart from each
other. The femur bone is considered the longest and strongest bone in the human body,
bridging the hip to the knee.
The first femur bone fracture was estimated to occur in May 1878 at the family
estate in Albi when Henri was around fourteen years old.328 It happened indoors in front
of the family and their local doctor, M. Seguin, who had just arrived.329 Henri’s cane
slipped on the waxy floor as he attempted to pull himself out of a low chair to greet the
doctor at the immediate request of his father Alphonse.330 His mother Adèle and his
grandmother Gabrielle (Alphonse’s mother) were also present.331 The final outcome of
this first fall was a left femur bone fracture; an emergency cardboard leg splint; a final leg
brace apparatus; liquid tranquilizer and bed confinement for as much as forty-two
326 Albury and Weisz, 1.
327 Albury and Weisz, 1.
328 Frey, 87.
329 Frey, 87.
330 Frey, 87.
331 Frey, 87.
58 58
days.332 The Albi doctor M. Seguin, who was present during the accident, set the
emergency cardboard splint.333
The second femur bone fracture was estimated to occur in July of 1879 outdoors
when Henri was around fifteen years old.334 As the adolescent Henri walked with his
mother Adèle in Barèges, he stepped in a shallow gully characteristic of a dried-up water
ravine.335 Unfortunately, this step caused his right leg femur to fracture.336
Coincidentally, the leg apparatus that braced the first fracture was immediately located in
Albi and used to brace the second fracture.337 Expectedly, the same consequences that
applied to the first fracture did apply to the second. But, this time, after the nursing of the
second fracture was complete, there seemed to be a new heightened awareness around
body weight, mobility and bone strength.338 The family did not want to attempt any
activity if “there was the slightest chance of provoking another accident.”339 This new
family attitude toward accident prevention was veritably the final outcome of this
additional and surprisingly quick second fracture.340 By this time in his life, Henri had
experienced constant supervision and multiple restrictions denying him the freedom,
privacy and mobility he must have desired.
These two critical femur leg bone fractures more than likely contributed to and
possibly perpetuated Henri’s stunted growth in physical height. Both fractures occurred
332 Frey, 87-92
333 Frey, 87.
334 Frey, 104.
335 Frey, 104.
336 Frey, 104.
337 Frey, 104.
338 Frey, 109.
339 Frey, 109.
340 Frey, 109.
59 59
in his adolescence, a human developmental stage where height increases due to overall
bone growth in length (puberty).
The late Sir Terence Cawthorne FRCS, has stated that when Henri was 13 years
old it was identified that he was approximately 4 feet 11 ½ inches tall which was
somewhat average for his age.341 Apparently, this height measurement was just prior to
the first femur fracture in his left leg in 1878.342 Then after the second femur fracture in
his right leg, reports state he only grew as little as ¾ of an inch.343 Finally, when he
reached 18 years old, he measured in at approximately 5 feet ½ inch according to
claims.344 But Frey’s adult maximum height record for Henri is “a little over 4 feet 11
inches tall,” only somewhat corroborating Cawthorne’s approximation.345 The debate in
regard to his true and maximum height just adds more mystery to the legacy of Toulouse-
Lautrec.
Toulouse-Lautrec: An Eccentric Personality Full of Theatrics
Henri was quite eccentric, a term frequently used to describe artists. However, his
eccentricities were very often related to the cause and effect of his physical ailment, a
specificity lacking in the other artists. His dress habits were suited for his own ailing
body that conditioned his personal style over time.346 Along with wearing stained artist
hands in public, Henri assembled colors, patterns and accessories that did not always
341 All Heal: a Medical and Social Miscellany: a Collection of Lectures of Interest to the General
Reader, given at the Royal Society of Medicine. (London: Heinemann Medical Books for the Royal Society
of Medicine, 1971) 192.
342 Sir Cawthorne, 192.
343 Sir Cawthorne, 192.
344 Sir Cawthorne, 192.
345 Frey, 269.
346 Frey, 2.
60 60
reflect traditions of aristocracy or Parisian fashion.347 A portrait of Henri by the painter
Édouard Vuillard (1868-1940) La Cuisine de Monsieur Momo Célibataire (1880) shows
“him in a floppy hat, bright yellow trousers, a red shirt and a large red and white plaid
kerchief.”348 The artist was also known for his unconventional beige and black checkered
trousers worn in public and captured by photographers of the time.349 His motive for
personal style might have been creativity or it could have been visual peacocking, a
nonverbal rebellion, passive-aggressively challenging the establishment. Either way,
Henri faced real threats for his attire and artwork—vulnerable to verbal or physical
attack—even though these same qualities of his were used to seduce friends and
lovers.350
In addition to his atypical outer garments, he was known to layer his under clothes
as well, wearing multiple “underwear, knitted long-johns and extra undershirts,”
regardless of the weather.351 Perhaps one would conclude the method behind his practice
was to sculpt the body he desired or at least made him feel more comfortable or
protected.
His outer garments must have been modified to accommodate his reduced body
frame and lessened height via tailoring and alterations. Understandably, this would have
been necessary since clothing shops and their sizes predominately accommodated (and
still do) the standard heights and weights of men in the general population. More than
likely, his garments were tailored or altered for him by family (possibly Adèle) back
home in Albi, if not still while residing in Montmartre.
347 Frey, 1-2.
348 Frey, 1-2.
349 Frey, 327.
350 Frey, 328.
351 Frey, 2.
61 61
Quietly, his mother grew to have little patience for her son’s newfound déclassé
identity, a product of bohemian Montmartre Paris.352 She would distance herself at times
or seem unresponsive, which built resentment, if not fear, in the artist. Despite their
mutual frustration and disagreements for each other, Adèle was always loyal to Henri
unlike Alphonse.353 In turn, Henri never stopped all communications with his wealthy
conservative pious aristocrat mother even though he lived a bohemian life in
Montmartre.354
Though he lived there, a predominately low income working class community; he
lived a relatively opulent lifestyle.355 Regardless of his bohemianism and inexpensive
studios, Henri still depended on the privilege of his aristocratic family to replenish his
frequently drained funds via a private income allowance backed by two parents.356 These
resources did not only support professional art endeavors, but also social ones, including
dining, entertainment and travel—even extended vacations.357
Sometimes he would travel back home to the south of France when he wasn’t
living up to his own expectations in the Montmartre quarters.358 His mother Adèle
labeled his spontaneous habit to arrive home or return back to Paris, fagues (fleeing).359
His father Alphonse had the same response whenever he felt overwhelmed or
pressured.360 Henri also seemed to inherit other father characteristics including: infantile
352 Frey, 1.
353 Frey, 6.
354 Frey, 6.
355 Frey, 216.
356 Frey, 216.
357 Frey, 216.
358 Frey, 216.
359 Frey, 216.
360 Frey, 216.
62 62
behaviors, extravagance, rebellion, theatrics, costumes, love of animals (horses
specifically) and finally a dire necessity to draw and sketch and be the center of
attention.361
Despite the presumed prejudice and discrimination one would expect him to face,
Henri was quite successful if not popular socially.362 He had many friends and close
acquaintances throughout his life fluxing from lighthearted pleasure to intense
intimacy.363 His friends were like a surrogate family, carefully selected to accept his new
identity, even though some of those friends were literal family, such as Cousin Gabriel
Tapié de Céleyran (1869-1930).364 Henri consistently socialized as a member surrounded
by a group of friends who all met at an arranged destination, moving together as a body
of one, similar to an entourage.365 Rarely, was he ever alone in a public setting.366
As early as the age of thirteen, personality traits found in his adulthood had
already formed.367 Seemingly, Lautrec made the decision to not complain about his
physical ailment openly, but consequently, his internal feelings found a way out.368 If his
demands were not met, or his was challenged to the point of contradiction or
compromise, he became a tyrant, a startling contrast to the wit, charm, pun, humor and
lighthearted nature he showed others.369 Only his closest family, friends and lovers
361 Frey, 96-97.
362 Frey, 199.
363 Frey, 200.
364 Frey, 292.
365 Frey, 242.
366 Frey, 242.
367 Frey, 92.
368 Frey, 92.
369 Frey, 92; 435.
63 63
usually got a glimpse of this tyrannical side.370 This nature (even if almost hidden) was a
signature characteristic of his personality throughout his life.371 Henri was very
conscious of power and how to manipulate power struggles that existed around him.372
He was quite skilled at influencing and if necessary, manipulating others around him to
fulfill his own agenda.373 Both men and women would fall prey to his charms and
unfortunate tyranny if they did not submit to his psychological domination.374 In
addition, he was able to succeed without relying on pity from others for his physical
ailment.375 The artist was skilled at crafting his circle of friends as the ‘it’ group, creating
interest by others to join.376 Seeing a physically challenged artist openly display his
personality traits inspired others in the group to face their own unacceptability and
limitations.377 This would only increase motivation in others to join his circle and fall
prey to his charms.378
As early as the age of sixteen, Henri was becoming an impressive writer, recorded
in the massive archive of private letters to family, friends, business associates and
eventual lovers.379 His literary style reflects his years of aristocratic upbringing, formal
education, bohemianism and conversational panache. He was also known for quick wit
and pun in both conversation and writing and he lived by the principle of replacing self-
370 Frey, 92.
371 Frey, 92.
372 Frey, 285.
373 Frey, 285.
374 Frey, 285.
375 Frey, 285.
376 Frey, 285.
377 Frey, 285.
378 Frey, 285.
379 Frey, 113.
64 64
pity with self-deprecation, since it lead to humor, his chosen ‘ice-breaker’ in almost any
human interaction.380 Notwithstanding, moody could be used to describe his intense and
easily noticeable demeanor, since he could fluctuate from melancholy to hilarity or from
hostility to tenderness in short periods of time.381
Referred to quite harshly as his only attractive physical feature, it was said that
“His black eyes shone furiously.”382 Henri himself was conscious of his physical
shortcomings in comparison to the general population (fully developed men), relying on
the striking impression his eyes made in the close proximity of others, especially
women.383 It has been said his eyes were “such a dark brown that there was no difference
in the color between the iris and the pupil,” which intensified his gaze.384 Interestingly,
there seems to be no testimony from others that his eyes indicated any visible
symptomology of pycnodysostosis. Utilizing his asset, the artist would often take off his
pince-nez eyeglasses to gaze at a woman who interested him.385 More than likely, he
wanted to give her a better look at his number one feature without obstruction. Moreover,
Henri’s eyes seemed to easily disclose his moods.386
His pince-nez eyeglasses, bowler hat and necessary cane were his accessory
trademarks.387 His ability to present himself and others as caricature in art, along with
380 Frey, 94.
381 Frey, 3.
382 Frey, 272.
383 Frey, 3.
384 Frey, 3.
385 Frey, 3.
386 Frey, 3.
387 Frey, 7-8.
65 65
the rumor he had a hollow cane to hold a hidden vial of liquor to drink on the run, only
added to his joie-de-vivre theatrical personality.388
Besides eccentric and tyrannical, additional adjectives to describe the artist’s
personality include bawdy, cynical, decadent, defiant, destructive, dictatorial, excessive,
flirtatious, gregarious, humorous, intense, lewd, punitive, sarcastic, scandalous, scathing,
vulgar and witty.389
He was undeniably anti-intellectual, favoring the popular but racy circulations,
such as Le Fin de Siècle (1891-1910) which focused on “erotic cartoons, gossip, political
jokes, sexy anecdotes and discussions of fashionable events in Paris.”390
Henri greatly enjoyed the topic and conversation of sex, but kept it general, never
with any intention of describing his own sexuality or encounters specifically.391 His
vagueness on his sex life is despite the various sexually expletive caricatures (including
nude photographs of himself in 1901) he left the viewer to consider forever.392 This
private yet publicly exposed posture Henri held created a sexual mystique, accompanied
by cynical and flippant attitudes all while he notably harbored a large penis in relation to
his body proportion.393 A number of friends who saw him naked concluded he had
macrogenitalism even though the condition is seen in pre-adolescence rather than
adulthood,394 explaining why one friend Thadée Natanson (1868-1951) called the artist,
“a penis with legs.”395
388 Frey, 7.
389 Frey, 94-422.
390 Frey, 307.
391 Frey, 227.
392 Frey, 227
393 Frey, 379.
394 Frey, 379.
395 Frey, 379.
66 66
Henri regularly transferred his state of enthusiasm for one thing abruptly onto
another (a temporary obsession) which ran its course to eventually move on to the next
discovered obsession, a repetitious cycle he labeled his furias.396
Due to Paris’ new trend of masked balls in 19th century Europe, Henri dressed-up
in costumes in the spirit of novelty (Figures 17, 19).397 Many others, including his
friends, participated in costume regalia, which served as both entertainment and
creativity, if not an expression of art itself.398 Photographs exist of the artist’s different
Japanese, Arabic, Catholic, Spanish and working class personas.399 Even before his
move to Paris or the Montmartre quarters, Henri played dress-up (even cross-dressed) as
amusement for himself and others.400
In 1892, while attending one of many masked balls held at Le Moulin Rouge, the
artist cross-dressed in a fur boa, feather-draped hat and checked cape accompanied by a
friend (Figure 18).401. Women’s accessories such as hats, undergarments, jewelry, veils,
muffs and perfumes intrigued the artist.402 Knowing his strong desire for the company of
women in general and the objects that symbolized their identity, perhaps Henri found
fetishistic gratification in costumes, especially cross-dressing. Seeing such objects in his
natural environment could have ignited that desire, his desire, to dress-up. Having
Alphonse as a father (discussed later with fetishism), who displayed his own costume
regalia back home in the Toulouse-Lautrec family, only helps to explain such
inclinations.
396 Frey, 243.
397 Frey, 167.
398 Frey, 167.
399 Frey, 167.
400 Frey, 27.
401 Frey, 302.
402 Frey, 381.
67 67
Figure 17 - An Entertaining Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec dressed in Japanese Costume
Regalia circa 1887 – Photograph (A notable Japonisme influence on his Art) (No
Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
68 68
Figure 18 –A Theatrical Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec dressed in Woman's Attire as
Costume Regalia circa 1892 - Photograph (Credit: Photographer Maurice Guibert 1856-
1913) (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
69 69
Figure 19 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec dressed in ‘Circus-Inspired’ Harlequin Costume
Regalia circa Date Unknown - Photograph (Credit: Photographer Maurice Guibert 1856-
1913) (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
Henri drank the common 19th-century European spirit absinthe, known as La Fée
Verte (The Green Fairy) for its recognizable green color (or colorless).403 Absinthe was
and still is a bitter, potent high distilled spirit with as much as 80 proof alcohol made
from wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) along with various other botanicals, herbs and
spices, especially anise.404
According to art historian Felicia Zavarella Stadelman, some scholars believe the
artist is responsible for the “décor cocktail napkin,” an invention inspired by Henri’s
before and after sketches of his drunken friends on such napkins found at parties.405
403 Doris Lanier, Absinthe, the Cocaine of the Nineteenth Century: a History of the
Hallucinogenic Drug and Its Effect on Artists and Writers in Europe and the United States (Jefferson, NC:
McFarland, 1995) 9.
404 Lanier, xi.
405 Felicia Zavarella Stadelman (April 23, 2019),
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RyqamSzwqHw).
70 70
Once the artist graduated from working in the atelier to his private home studio he
often held cocktail parties.406 He received his friends in his own domain, as it bypassed
the need to face the hills and obstacles of the Montmartre butte and Parisian winter
months.407 Invariably, strangers would appear at his parties for free drinks and the
spectacle of Henri’s presence along with his art.408 There are accounts that some of the
random attendees were not friends or supportive strangers at all, instead, they mocked
and ridiculed the artist from a distance.409 Unfeigned, Henri’s parties lasted for years
and were sometimes weekly.410
The artist’s studio was described by one friend as messy and dirty with a huge
fifteenth-century oak coffer chest, dumb-bells, costumes and the expected art supplies
with nearly no place to sit.411 With all things considered, the presence of dumb-bells
points to a possible interest to strengthen his arms.412 Two stools, a divan sofa and a
couple of stiff upright chairs were the small furniture pieces scattered throughout his
space.413 Like all of his studios, Henri slept on the floor (possible health reason) with a
single mattress, accessorized with items bought at London’s famous Liberty shop.414 A
bearskin (throw or rug) stood in place of a comforter quilt.415 There were two opposing
tables placed at each end of the room.416 One was a café table with wrought-iron legs
406 Frey, 199.
407 Frey, 199.
408 Frey, 199.
409 Frey 199.
410 Frey, 199.
411 Frey, 6.
412 Frey, 6.
413 Frey, 6.
414 Frey, 7.
415 Frey, 7.
416 Frey, 7.
71 71
and a marbled top near his easels.417 On it was a cluttered accumulation of various and
curious objects.418 There were empty drinking glasses, dried-up paint cups, photographs
and reproductions of classic artworks along with a Japanese wig, a ballet slipper, a
woman’s high-buttoned shoe and a score to a popular song.419 Some of these theatric
items were possible props for still-life.
The other table, a long one near the door, was assembled as a cocktail bar.420 It
was full of a collection of disordered liquor bottles along with heavy drinking glasses
snatched from a local bar downstairs around the corner.421 Sometimes, he would go back
to each finished bottle and pour remaining settled drips of alcohol in one of the heavy
glasses, taking a final shot of each bottle’s remaining nectar.422 One might say his studio
exemplified the quintessential bachelor’s pad, “whose dust and disorder had taken on
mythical proportions.”423
Like an official atelier, his studio had a platform for models to settle onto as they
posed.424 A stepladder was present to access high and large canvases.425 At times in his
studio, it was possible to find empty walls and easels with no work in progress giving a
look of abandonment.426 Cartoons, boxes and lithographic stones could be stacked
417 Frey, 7.
418 Frey, 7.
419 Frey, 7.
420 Frey, 7.
421 Frey, 7.
422 Frey, 7.
423 Frey, 350.
424 Frey, 7.
425 Frey, 7.
426 Frey, 7.
72 72
around or lay on the floor as paintings leaned against the studio walls in orderly fashion
displaying only the backs of canvases.427
Adding to his eccentric personality, the artist developed the habit of completely
dozing off in public (alcoholism, stages of syphilis or both).428 Collections of
photographs document this behavior.
427 Frey, 7.
428 Frey, 179.
CHAPTER 3: ART CRITIQUE & ARGUMENTS
Toulouse-Lautrec: Movement and Transformations with Everything Anew
The aristocrat found his refuge in Montmartre Paris. In this bohemian society,
everything was anew. He began to form new human relations in a new environment
which established a new lifestyle leading to a new art. Consequently, Montmartre
remained the headquarters of his new art and lifestyle until his early demise. Eventually,
through a progressive movement between two social classes, the born and raised
nobleman transformed from aristocrat to bohemian as he paralleled himself with the
social outcast, which validated his own outcast experience. In this déclassé movement
from higher to lower class, Toulouse-Lautrec, ironically found a new freedom in the
acceptance Bohemia had to offer. These movements and transformations that took place
in Montmartre directly influenced Toulouse-Lautrec’s own identity. This new identity
unquestionably transformed his art.
The 19th-century noble lady had been replaced with the bohemian demimonde
class of women who were art models, adult entertainers, working prostitutes, open
lesbians or any other possible combination of these distinct identities. The noble
gentleman was replaced with the bohemian male entertainer, anarchist and homosexual
with possible combined identities as well. The natural lit outdoor landscape commonly
painted en-plein-aire was replaced with the exotic indoor evening landscape of bars,
brothels and nightclubs. An interior landscape lit up with electric modern light.
The respectable subject matter that was once expected of him by the aristocracy
and bourgeoisie was now unexpectedly replaced with a questionable bohemian figure or
environment or lifestyle. Naturally, this act would have been seen as an unexpected
disrespect to the establishment, including to the well-known Toulouse-Lautrec family
name. But there was obviously a deeper motive beyond social class or respect that drove
74 74
Toulouse-Lautrec to forgo aristocracy when he moved his entire life to Montmartre to
become a bohemian artist. For many, such as his aristocratic parents Adèle and Alphonse,
the move to Montmartre would not have been wise, if one was in pursuit of 19 th-century
success and respect as a noble artist. After all, Montmartre itself was socially
marginalized by the rest of Paris for its bohemianism and in turn was physically
ostracized as it sat on a separate hill somewhat isolated from the main city. To the
establishment, such as the aristocracy, Montmartre was a part of 19 th-century society that
was not of the respectable whole.
But for Toulouse-Lautrec, the deeper motive was truly an act of defiance. It was
an act to abandon and betray the very establishment. This is how he negated his
illegitimacy. This is also how he found the social class and respect that he was missing by
identifying with and joining the 19th-century social class that accepted and included him
despite his physical ailment, which were the bohemians. By defiantly becoming a
bohemian as a rejected aristocrat, it gave him the motive to abandon and betray the
standards and expectations of the establishment in his art—which he did. This was
punishment for their own acts of abandonment and betrayal. This is how the social
outcast becomes the art subject matter of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec during the 19th
century, regardless of class structure, noble privilege or respectable society.
Toulouse-Lautrec: Validating His Own Outcast Experience through his Art
Now it is relevant to review an example of specific artworks and their subject
matter that resulted from the new relations Toulouse-Lautrec held with the bohemian
outcasts living in Montmartre Paris. These individuals with their own identities and life
experience became the subject matter of his art because they validated him through
inclusion and acceptance as a fellow outcast. Now his avant-garde art and style defiantly
abandoned and betrayed his own previous social class and identity as he paralleled
75 75
himself with the social outcasts of Montmartre. And even though quite unexpected, it was
all possible since such new relations along with a new social class, new identity, new
environment and new lifestyle leads to a new art.
The Demimonde Model, Entertainer, Prostitute and Lesbian Woman as Fellow Outcast
In the 19th century, a demimonde was “a class of woman on the fringes of
respectable society” who often relied on various means to survive, such as by the support
of wealthy lovers.429 These lovers could have been men, women or both. The first use of
the term demimonde was circa 1855.430 A woman who belongs to this group of women
is called a demi-mondaine.431
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Relation with La Goulue: Queen of Montmartre
Adult entertainer Louise Weber (1870-1929) (Figure 20), known by her stage
name La Goulue which translates to mean The Glutton, began her fame at Le Moulin de
la Galette even before her more famous presence at Le Moulin Rouge.432 She danced
such routines as multiple versions of the quadrille and the cancan as an adult
entertainer.433 The cancan was danced by women “characterized by high kicking usually
while holding up the front of a full ruffled skirt.”434 The quadrille dance also included
the chahut, a part of the dance where there is also a high-kicking routine, similar to what
429 Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary Since 1828, last updated February 11, 2020, accessed
March 30, 2020, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demimonde.
430 Merriam-Webster, demimonde.
431 Merriam-Webster, demimondaine.
432 Frey, 189.
433 Frey, 189-93.
434 Merriam-Webster, cancan.
76 76
is seen in the cancan.435 La Goulue was known for both these dances, among other dance
routines and visual displays of outrageous acts. For instance, she was known for parading
around the room during performance, finishing off patron’s drinks sitting on tables and
kicking the top hats off male patrons’ heads as she performed.436 She was known for her
signature neck ribbon and chignon hairstyle tightly secured on top of her head, like a bun,
imitated by other Parisian demimonde women.437 Her adult entertainment led up to
grand finales, where she flipped her skirt to show her lacy bloomers; revealed yards of
lace petticoats; or did the leg splits to the ground.438 Toulouse-Lautrec met her in these
cabaret environments, became her friend and used her as his art model and subject.439
According to Stadelman, the dancer, in her own words, was a part-time prostitute.440 La
Goulue’s fame and reputation was well known in Montmartre and throughout Paris.441
This was because she was known to try anything, have a voracious appetite, be
audacious, be provocative, be arrogant and be vulgar.442 To Toulouse-Lautrec, she
embodied spectacle which he loved in others and because of it, he essentially made her a
legend through his art.443 She was also the main figure in Toulouse-Lautrec’s color
lithograph poster, Moulin Rouge, La Goulue (1891) (Figure 5) which greatly catapulted
his art career.
435 Frey, 189.
436 Frey, 190-92.
437 Frey, 190-91.
438 Frey, 191-92.
439 Frey, 192.
440 Stadelman, TTEOTA Lecture.
441 Frey, 192.
442 Frey, 190-92.
443 Frey, 192.
77 77
Figure 20 - La Goulue (Louise Weber) circa 1885 - Photograph (No Copyright/PD-old)
commons.wikimedia.org
La Goulue at the Moulin Rouge (1892) (Figure 21) by Toulouse-Lautrec
successfully captures the flagrant personality and lifestyle of the adult entertainer.444 The
medium is oil on cardboard. The cabaret dancer is accompanied by her two female
intimates as she looks out to the viewer. The general scene is La Goulue arriving to Le
Moulin Rouge and entering its indoor landscape. There is also a gentleman seen in the
background wearing a top hat obviously present to take in what the cabaret has to offer.
There looks to be distant windows or mirrors reflecting the images within. Toulouse-
444 “MoMA,” MoMA, accessed May 3, 2020, https://www.moma.org/collection/works/34936#
78 78
Lautrec utilizes a strong use of atmospheric perspective to create depth and distance
separating the man from the women with respect to background and foreground. There
looks to be a lamp or light fixture hanging or mounted between the man and the three
women working as visual division as well. In the front of the composition, center stage,
the viewer gets a full frontal view of La Goulue. Toulouse-Lautrec depicts her with her
neck ribbon and chignon hairstyle, an unquestionable identification of her. Toulouse-
Lautrec gives the dancer a facial expression that only her reputation can hold:
haughtiness as if irritated by the viewer’s capture of her arrogant arrival. The other
emotionless figures seem to only cater to her dominant presence. All other figures pale in
comparison to La Goulue—and not just for her fame or placement in the composition—
but for the exotic dress she is wearing. It is extremely risqué with its painterly whitish
fabric having what looks to be transparent qualities. La Goulue’s dress with its sharp and
deep V-cut décolleté neckline leaves little to the imagination and only adds more
eroticism to the opaque fabric. Her bosom is partially exposed with flesh while the
viewer is left to view the rest via the opaque garment. She seems to be wearing just a hint
of jewelry and what looks to be a broach of greenery on her lapel as if to attempt some
demureness.
When it comes to the relation La Goulue held with Toulouse-Lautrec and what it
represented it really comes down to her unapologetic role as spectacle. Her spectacle
becomes his parallel, since nobody knew more than Toulouse-Lautrec what it meant to be
a spectacle in the presence of others. Whether it was her entertaining dance and
personality, or her modeling for art and nude photography (Figure 20), or her lesbianism
and prostitution, La Goulue had the power to even surpass the spectacle of Toulouse-
Lautrec. In this respect, Toulouse-Lautrec reasonably felt normal when she was around,
since most eyes were undoubtedly fixated on her spectacle, rather than his own. Even
though such a moment in time would be temporary for the artist, it more than likely gave
79 79
him a sense of escape from his physical ailment in the form of mental and emotional
relief. It would also help explain his dedication to Montmartre, where individuals who
fulfilled the same role of spectacle similar to La Goulue were everyday occurrences.
Figure 21 - La Goulue at the Moulin Rouge circa 1892 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec –
Oil on Cardboard (No Copyright/PD-old) commons.wikimedia.org
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Relation with Jane Avril: La Mélénite
Another adult entertainer that Toulouse-Lautrec paralleled himself with was Jane
Avril (1868-1943) also known as “La Mélénite” which translates to mean The Explosive,
who danced her version of the cancan at Le Moulin Rouge.445 Avril had her own
445 Frey, 272.
80 80
reputation, more juxtaposed than La Goulue’s, with an almost innocent if not virtuous
aura, but still seductive, very opposite to The Glutton.446 It was stated by the British artist
William Rothenstein that Jane Avril was, “A single attractive figure…a wild Botticelli-
like creature, perverse but intelligent.”447 Other observations were that Avril had certain
“madness for dancing” leading her to keep “strange company” and that she was exotic
and excitable, with “the beauty of a fallen angel.”448 Hence, her stage name La Mélénite
(The Explosive). Other descriptions labeled the dancer: graceful, delicate, wondrous,
original, instinctual, artistic, agile, and elegant in movement and technique.449 Avril also
danced the quadrille, giving impressions of girlish youth, igniting provocation as a prude
with modesty even though she displayed a “décolleté nearly to her waist.”450
Undoubtedly, she gave her own explosive high kicks in the dances she performed.
Finally, patrons could sense a “depraved virginity” in Avril reflected through her dance
and persona throughout Montmartre.451 All of these qualities are what “set her apart from
most of the dancers on the nightclub circuit.”452 Jane Avril was also a demi-mondaine
woman of the time fulfilling the role of adult entertainer and art model with rumors of
lesbianism.453 In addition, it has been documented she grew up in a broken family with
dysfunction and abuse, “forced into prostitution by an alcoholic mother.”454
446 Frey, 272.
447 Frey, 272.
448 Frey, 272.
449 Frey, 272.
450 Frey, 272.
451 Frey, 272-73.
452 Frey, 324.
453 Frey, 272-73.
454 Frey, 348.
81 81
Apparently, Toulouse-Lautrec at one time wanted more with the dancer than just
friendship, quoted as asking her, “to go to bed with him.”455 At the time, Avril was noted
as being “the official mistress of someone else and was the subject of many men’s
fantasies” but still it is said she obliged Toulouse-Lautrec “just once” and slept with him
for the sake of friendship.456 Throughout his art career, he used her as model and subject
for multiple artworks like La Goulue. Toulouse-Lautrec presented La Mélénite in his
compositions with her signature style, including her plume feathered hats she was
famously known for as an adult entertainer.457
One of Toulouse-Lautrec’s most seductive color lithograph posters is Jane Avril
(1899) where the dancer is sinisterly posed with a snake wrapped around her waist in a
very art nouveau style (Figure 22). Consequently, the same imagery can be seen in an
actual dress worn by her in 1890, memorialized in a black and white photograph taken by
Paul Sescau (1858-1926) (Figure 23). The image in Toulouse-Lautrec’s poster directs the
viewer to recall the biblical account of Temptation, where Eve in the Garden of Eden
encounters the Serpent; but this time, the serpent is obviously wrapped around the female
figure rather than the Tree of Knowledge.458 Toulouse-Lautrec’s color lithographic
poster brings Avril to life with vibrant color and dramatic pose. The poster’s palate uses
red as a power color to represent her entire tall plume feathered hat and the bottom of her
dress, nicely balancing the composition. The hat and bottom skirt with their solid isolated
colors succinctly reflects the inspiration, style and technique of Japanese woodblock
prints. Red is also used to fill in the collar and cuffs of the dress. The main body of the
dress is solid black and it also creates another major block of color in the composition.
455 Frey, 273.
456 Frey, 273.
457 Frey, 316.
458 Genesis 3:1-24 (KJV)
82 82
Figure 22 - Jane Avril circa 1899 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Color Lithograph
Poster (No Copyright/PD-old) commons.wikimedia.org
83 83
Figure 23 - Jane Avril circa 1890 - Photograph by Paul Sescau (No Copyright/Public
Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
84 84
The serpent itself is predominately two-toned in its representation of colors. The
serpent’s head and tail are yellow while the main body is a faint blue. Red color just fills
in the eye and dots the head. Intriguingly, the serpent’s two colors progressively bleed
into each other similar to a graduated ombre of color tone. As if looking at the face of
Avril, the serpent’s body slithers up the dancer’s own body, wrapped around her hips and
waist. The use of both black and red color seems appropriate for this sinister dress worn
by La Mélénite, since it is visually explosive in its color palate and its serpentine subject
matter. Toulouse-Lautrec sets off Avril in her vibrant one-of-a-kind outfit by keeping the
background a neutral earth tone. The background color also seems to play the role of the
dancer’s flesh tone, such as her face and hands, which are simply carved out of the
composition by means of black outline. Black is also used to outline the entire adult
entertainer in dress and hat. The poster shows the same pose held by Avril in the black
and white photograph of 1890. Her hands are in the air, framing her face, looking out to
the viewer as if suspended in dance. Toulouse-Lautrec prints her name in large black text
to make sure it gets associated with her signature image. The artist dates and marks his
poster with his self-invented HTL Remarque signature stamp, enclosed in a circle found
in the lower right corner. These signature stamps came from Japanese influence and were
popular with modern artists of the time.459
Jane Avril, similar to La Goulue, added her own contribution to spectacle in
Toulouse-Lautrec’s life. The accusation that the dancer kept strange company is also a
parallel to Toulouse-Lautrec’s own role as strange company, since his physical ailment
and all its conditions—including his visibly short stature—would qualify as strange to
others living in the 19th century. In Montmartre, women who were also marginalized and
ostracized became approachable and attainable for Toulouse-Lautrec, since their identity
459 Frey, 401.
85 85
and life experience paralleled his own in the overall establishment. Avril seen as a Fallen
Angel is a relevant parallel to Toulouse-Lautrec’s own fallen aristocracy via his déclassé
transfer from higher to lower class. Even though she was an outcast, she (and women like
her) offered the attention and affection he so desired which was undoubtedly denied him
by conventional society prior to Montmartre.
Female entertainers such as Yvette Guilbert (1865-1944), who spoke monologues
(La Diseuse), lesbian lovers May Milton and May Belfort (1870-1960) and female clown
Cha-U-Kao (La Clownesse) are honorable mentions found in his art subject as well.460
They were four more demimonde women the artist paralleled himself with as a bohemian
outcast living in Montmartre.
The Male Anarchist, Entertainer and Homosexual as Fellow Outcast
According to Merriam-Webster, an anarchist is “any individual who rebels
against any authority figureheads, established orders, or ruling powers.”461 In addition,
any sub-group or individual of society whose natural identity challenges the established
order could also be seen as a social anarchist, such as a prostitute or homosexual. Such
individuals were easily found within the confines of Montmartre and even other parts of
Europe in the 19th century.
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Relation with Aristide Bruant: La Trumpet
Aristide Bruant (1851-1925) was an anarchist and lifelong friend of Toulouse-
Lautrec’s in Montmartre.462 He was also the owner of Le Mirliton (toy whistle) a cabaret
460 Frey, 308; 382-418.
461 Merriam-Webster, anarchist.
462 Frey, 184;338.
86 86
located in the bohemian quarters.463 He also wrote the lyrics and sang the songs he
performed in his own cabaret.464 He was known to have a powerful, bold voice which
could be heard a great distance without the help of an amplifier, as one army soldier
described, “You would think he had swallowed a trumpet.”465
Bruant was not originally from Paris.466 When he was younger, he worked an
eclectic collection of service jobs that allowed him to support his family as an
adolescent.467 Later, he served in the army before pursuing his final role as cabaret
owner, songwriter, singer and performer at Le Mirliton.468 Bruant’s life experiences
always seemed to relate more to the working class milieu.469
The theme of the anarchist’s cabaret was to intentionally counter attack the other
cabarets that came before it like the more stringent Le Chat Noir with its Louis XIII
chiseled ornate period wood furniture.470 Le Mirliton was staged to cater to the
unpretentiousness of an earthy working class with a more rustic and raw atmosphere
which contradicted the expected refinement and propriety of the 19th century.471
The songs Bruant performed in his cabaret were to proclaim the social injustices
he believed oppressed the impoverished (the forgotten of society), leading to destruction
against their will.472 Such conditions were usually blamed on the social upper classes,
463 Frey, 183.
464 Frey, 183
465 Frey, 184.
466 Frey, 184.
467 Frey, 184.
468 Frey, 184.
469 Frey 183-84.
470 Frey, 183.
471 Frey, 183.
472 Frey, 184.
87 87
especially the imperialistic governing aristocracies of Paris, Europe or elsewhere.473
Even though his songs and performances often included wit, charm, humor, jokes and
lighthearted banter, the overall message delivered was a defense for the oppressed and a
call to action against those who oppressed them.474
Like Montmartre itself, he was bohemian and avant-garde in every manner—
including attire (Figure 24).475 Bruant dressed very chic, wearing outfits that emulated
costumes, an eccentric behavior Toulouse-Lautrec enjoyed himself, giving the two
bohemians something in common.476 Along with forever face stubble, Bruant was seen
walking the streets with “a wide-brimmed black hat, red flannel shirt, black corduroy
jacket and trousers and heavy sewer-cleaner’s boots.”477 To amplify his look when he
went out, he included “a black cape and a red woolen muffler, draped over one
shoulder.”478
The anarchist would hang Toulouse-Lautrec’s drawings and paintings on the wall
of Le Mirliton, a cabaret with a clientele that followed and recognized the artist.479
Toulouse-Lautrec admired Bruant for his commitment to social justice and for his songs
and vocal performances which courageously shared his anarchist grievances with the
world.480 It’s also possible Toulouse-Lautrec admired Bruant for the anarchist’s ability to
embody the traditional male role and characteristics the artist was unable to achieve.481
473 Frey, 184.
474 Frey, 183-87.
475 Frey, 184.
476 Frey, 184.
477 Frey, 184.
478 Frey, 184.
479 Frey, 219.
480 Frey, 183-87.
481 Frey, 184.
88 88
He was one of the artist’s taller male friends adding to his overall magnificent macho
presence in addition to his commanding voice and revolutionary dominant persona.482
Figure 24 - Aristide Bruant circa 1886 - Photograph (Source: Julia Frey, Henri de
Toulouse-Lautrec, BB art 1999, s. 183 /No Copyright/PD-old) commons.wikimedia.org
After discovering Bruant and his cabaret, Toulouse-Lautrec became a regular.483
Bruant seemed to like Toulouse-Lautrec and was pleased to see Le Mirliton as a subject
matter in his new friend’s art.484 Bruant would also make it a point to publicly
482 Frey, 182.84.
483 Frey, 186.
484 Frey, 187.
89 89
acknowledge Toulouse-Lautrec when the artist entered his cabaret, even if the anarchist
was on stage in the middle of a performance.485 Bruant published and sold his own
magazine Le Mirliton (Figure 25) at the cabaret often showcasing the very artists and
writers who frequented his establishment.486 The anarchist eventually included
Toulouse-Lautrec on the cover of his magazine in the 29 December 1886 publication of
Le Mirliton, showcasing one of the artist’s illustrations.487
Figure 25 - Le Mirliton, weekly Edited by Aristide Bruant, n 102, March 24, 1893
(Drawing by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, Text of the Song A la place Maubert by
Aristide Bruant) (Author: Théophile Steinlin 1859-1923/Source: Gallica Digital Library)
(No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
Bruant and his cabaret quickly became a popular symbolic icon in Montmartre.488
There were many historical events to consider which buttressed the anarchist’s success as
485 Frey, 187.
486 Frey, 187.
487 Frey, 187.
488 Frey, 184.
90 90
a singer, songwriter and performer at Le Mirliton.489 Historical events such as the new
Paris under the plan and vision of Haussmann and Napoleon III were examples of the
oppression Bruant used to proclaim and fuel his anarchy against the oppressors of
society.490 Since, Montmartre itself was the ultimate Parisian outcast community during
the modern gentrification and zoning of the new Paris. Over time, Aristide Bruant’s
songs and their words rang in the ears of Toulouse-Lautrec and the Montmartre
community indefinitely.
Toulouse-Lautrec captured the chic bohemian look of the anarchist in colored
lithograph posters, such as in Aristide Bruant at His Cabaret (1893) (Figure 26).
Toulouse-Lautrec shows the anarchist from behind. He is in black cape, red woolen
muffler (draped over shoulder) and wide brimmed black hat. The cape is an enormous
block of black saturated color, dominating the muffler and hat’s presence in the
composition. Bruant’s neutral hair color is surrounded by the bold black and red colors.
The anarchist looks to hold a cane in his black gloved hand. The cabaret owner’s face
holds a sternly confident expression as he looks over his shoulder and beyond the edge of
the composition. Pursed lips and a strong raised black eyebrow intensify the anarchist’s
mood. Once again, Toulouse-Lautrec leaves the background quite empty and neutral,
which forces the viewer to focus solely on the anarchist. Toulouse-Lautrec offers his
name to the viewer by stylistically printing it in light text immediately over the dark cape
in the front of the composition. The artist looks to use an olive green color as outline
rather than black, adding more interest to the overall style and imagery of the poster. This
time he marked his art in the lower left corner of the composition with his Remarque
signature stamp.
489 Frey, 184-85.
490 Frey, 184-87.
91 91
Figure 26 – Aristide Bruant dans son Cabaret circa 1893 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec –
Color Lithograph Poster (Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain/No
Copyright) commons.wikimedia.org
92 92
To Toulouse-Lautrec, the cabaret owner and anarchist exemplified what it meant
to be a bohemian and abandon all ties to the establishment. Toulouse-Lautrec admired (if
not envied!) Bruant for his rejection of this very world the artist came from that
marginalized and ostracized him. Bruant also held qualities, such as physical strength,
height and size—and yet—he was still seen as a social outcast, a reality which must have
comforted the artist’s own physical short-comings in Montmartre. Bruant would
acknowledge Toulouse-Lautrec publicly—even stop what his was doing— in order to
announce the artist’s entrance. This was a radical acceptance denied if non-existent to
Toulouse-Lautrec in his previous life before Montmartre. Aristide Bruant fulfilled the
role as Bohemian Hero to Toulouse-Lautrec, and by paralleling himself with the
anarchist, he too, could reap the rewards of the cabaret owner’s male heroic role against
the enemy—the establishment. This is how Bruant becomes model and subject in
Toulouse-Lautrec’s art.
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Relation with Oscar Wilde: A Fellow Aristocrat’s fall from Grace
Oscar Wilde (1856-1900) was an Irish poet and playwright who resided in Britain
(Figure 27). Among his various travels and interests, he would take “frequent trips to
Paris with his lover Lord Alfred Douglas.”491 The Moulin Rouge in Montmartre was also
a destination for Wilde and his royal lover while in Paris492 As a homosexual living in
the 19th century, Wilde became the center of European scandal when he was brought up
on charges for sodomy in April 1895.493 By 1898, Oscar Wilde was living in Paris
permanently, incognito, under the alias name Sebastian Melmoth.494 For the British,
491 Frey, 383.
492 Frey, 383.
493 Frey, 383.
494 Frey, 383.
93 93
Paris was seen as the epicenter of debauchery, as they believed themselves to be more
upstanding as compared to the French.495 This cultural belief only ignited more public
scandal and attention to Wilde’s public trial, since it questioned the overall decency of
Britain itself.496
Figure 27 - Oscar Wilde circa 1882 – Photograph (No Copyright/Public Domain)
commons.wikimedia.org
495 Frey, 383.
496 Frey, 383.
94 94
The rumor is that Toulouse-Lautrec attended Wilde’s public trial or at the very
least knew the accused writer, but there is no evidence to verify such claim.497 Others
claimed that Toulouse-Lautrec asked Wilde to “sit for a portrait” but that he refused,
leaving the artist to work “from photographs or from memory.”498 The artist Ricardo
Opisso (1880-1966) created multiple art compositions depicting Toulouse-Lautrec’s
unmistakable image with Oscar Wilde and other third parties. This is despite the lack of
concrete evidence the French artist and Irish writer ever met. It could be Opisso was
making his own parallel between Toulouse-Lautrec and Wilde, placing their reputations
in the same composition, since they both independently represented 19 th-century scandal
so well. To add to his alleged fascination with Wilde, Toulouse-Lautrec would have
known about Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (Figure 28), which was
translated into French sometime between1891 to 1896.499 It’s a tale about beauty, youth,
choice, decadence and consequence all surrounding a portrait of a man in a painting,
many topics Toulouse-Lautrec would have found of interest if not personal. In addition to
their risqué and decadent lifestyles, Frey points out, both noble men represented “the
degenerate offspring of an otherwise respectable family.”500
Oscar Wilde is the most blatantly obvious parallel for Toulouse-Lautrec since
Wilde’s public scandal is essentially an aristocrat’s fall from grace, quite similar to
Toulouse-Lautrec, minus the courts and homosexuality. As Frey points out, Toulouse-
Lautrec “was Wilde’s parallel in scandalousness…and both felt they were outcasts in
their own societies.”501 Where Wilde was publically punished for an intimate physical
497 Frey, 383.
498 Frey, 383.
499 Frey, 419.
500 Frey, 383.
501 Frey, 384.
95 95
Figure 28 - A Picture of the Cover of the July, 1890 Edition of Lippincott's Monthly
Magazine, where "The Picture of Dorian Gray" was first published (also simultaneously
published in London) (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
act that was private, Toulouse-Lautrec was punished for his physical ailment by the
public, which punished him privately on an intimate level. Wilde was eventually found
guilty on grounds of inappropriate homosexual relations and convicted.502 After his
public trial and sentence served, he died in Paris on November 30, 1900, even before the
early demise of Toulouse-Lautrec.503
The artist painted Oscar Wilde (1895) in vibrant blue-green turquoise tuxedo
jacket with black lapel, bowtie and white shirt (Figure 29) the same year the poet and
playwright was charged for sodomy. The medium is watercolor on cardboard. Whether
502 Frey, 412.
503 Frey, 478.
96 96
the stylized portraiture is painted from personal relation, photography or memory,
Toulouse-Lautrec does not seem to deny Wilde his formal reputation as a gentleman and
writer living in the 19th century. Wilde is highly caricatured in true form to Toulouse-
Lautrec’s style and technique. The identification of Wilde is not lost in Toulouse-
Lautrec’s caricature of the Irish writer. The portrait captures the physical traits of Wilde’s
face, especially his eyes and lips, quick indicators to the viewer the image is that of the
charged homosexual. The overall portrait gives the viewer an impression of an
upstanding noble man, not necessarily of a disgraced individual, despite his current
charge. Wilde’s rich blonde hair almost blends into the faint golden landscape of London,
with Big Ben in the distant background. The composition shows its Impressionist and
Japanese woodblock influences, with painterly strokes and defined blocks of color
respectively. Toulouse-Lautrec utilizes an avant-garde modernism, portraying the torso of
Wilde with his arms and hands off the picture plane. Toulouse-Lautrec uses black to
outline Wilde’s body and to create shadow underneath his arm. The artist signs his work
in black stylized signature on the tuxedo jacket Wilde is wearing.
Toulouse-Lautrec’s choice to create the portrait the exact same year Wilde was
charged shows his drive to relate to the writer, not despite his charge, but because of it,
since it validates his own subsequent fall from grace as an aristocrat from the south of
France, now living in bohemian Montmartre with outcasts. This parallel is what qualifies
Wilde to be Toulouse-Lautrec’s model and subject in his art. The fact that Wilde is
British, homosexual and a possible stranger, becomes irrelevant, since for Toulouse-
Lautrec, the writer’s identity and life experience, now legitimizes his own.
97 97
Figure 29 - Oscar Wilde circa 1895 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Watercolor on
Cardboard (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
The artist also included in his subject matter the French playwright Tristan
Bernard (1866-1947) who was a journalist and comic writer for La Revue Blanche
magazine as well as the art critic Félix Fénéon (1861-1944) who was found guilty of
committing Paris bombings in the 19th century.504 They were two more anarchists the
artist paralleled himself with as a bohemian outcast living in Montmartre.
504 Frey, 352; 387.
CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION
Aristocracy vs. Bohemianism: How a Déclassé Drop in Social Class Made Sense for Toulouse-Lautrec
By the time Toulouse-Lautrec was introduced to the Montmartre quarters, he had
already concluded he would never live a normal life due to his physical ailment. To
buffer that assertion, he knew very well that both his parents and many of his extended
family members also agreed, whether they spoke of it or not. Every action and reaction
that took place by him and his family before his discovery of Montmartre was a pursuit of
normalcy. It was to seek out the same goals as others to live a normal life as much as
possible despite his physical ailment. But that was a futile attempt. Since no matter what
the artist or his family attempted, his physical ailment prevailed. Hence, there was no
discovered cure for his physical ailment, only management. Its existence influenced the
way he and others viewed himself. It also influenced what he and others believed he
could become and experience in life, much of which would likely fall short of normalcy.
There was nothing normal about Montmartre. This is essentially what gave
Montmartre its vital value to Toulouse-Lautrec. Separate from it being an art colony for
the avant-garde artist, it fulfilled even a much greater function for Toulouse-Lautrec. It
allotted a population and environment where his physical ailment was no longer the
center of attention in his life or for others. The existence of his physical ailment
diminished and became lost in the lighted glitz, cabaret glamour and belle époque
festivities of Montmartre. The controversial and provocative atmosphere present in the
Montmartre environment ultimately acted as a distraction from any sense of normalcy. It
was essentially off-the-grid in regard to normal lifestyles in the 19th century. It was a
society accessible to Toulouse-Lautrec once he moved to Paris. He found it was
comprised of individuals who brought their own déclassé stories to tell collectively in the
quarters. In a curious way, many of Montmartre’s residents had their own condition (even
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if not physical) that also prevented them from any sense of a normal life in the
establishment.
This is why it made sense for Toulouse-Lautrec to take a drop in social class, even
if it was considered déclassé, since his physical ailment was always going to prevent him
from living a normal life as an aristocrat or any class inside the establishment. These
established social classes came with standards and expectations that the artist simply
could not meet and live up to due to his physical ailment. Toulouse-Lautrec’s decision to
join Montmartre and become one of the bohemians was a very personal one and directly
specific to his physical ailment and its cause and effect. Montmartre was an environment
filled with individuals who had more in common with him (even if just symbolically)
than that of the establishment. He had already been born and raised in French aristocracy,
experienced quite a bit of its privilege, could easily predict the forecast of his aristocratic
future as a French nobleman, and yet, he chose to exit such known lineage to enter the
unknown of bohemianism. There was a deeper motive and intent that drove such a
decision. But of course that decision was directly contingent on the impossibility of being
seen as a legitimate member of the class structure altogether.
Bohemian Society: What it really represented for Toulouse-Lautrec
Bohemia represented freedom. It represented freedom from his past, his memories
and the Toulouse-Lautrec family living in the south of France. Bohemia also represented
his freedom to finally make choices for himself, while he managed his own physical
ailment.
Bohemia represented escape. It represented escape from aristocracy, its tradition,
standards and expectations. It also represented the escape from any sense of normalcy,
which caused continual disappointment for both the artist and his family.
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Bohemia represented independence. It represented independence from an over-
protective mother as well as the constant supervision from others who placed restrictions
on his movements as they made systematic decisions for him.
Bohemia represented opportunity. The opportunity to reinvent himself by creating
the art he wanted while living the lifestyle he so desired so he could experience that
which he hadn’t experienced thus far.
Bohemia represented privacy. It represented the privacy to pursue that which was
frowned upon and not available prior to the discovery of Montmartre. Bohemia
represented the ability to experience all things forbidden: adult entertainment, women,
sex, and experimentation with substances like alcohol in the isolated privacy of
Montmartre.
Bohemia represented empowerment. It represented the empowerment to create art
with little to no restrictions, while giving little concern for what others thought, including
the establishment. It represented the empowerment to live an alternative lifestyle with the
right to do what, when, where, how you wanted with whom you wanted, no matter what.
Bohemia represented hope. It represented the hope one could live in a world
where no one cared you were different, had a condition, even a physical ailment. It
represented the hope one could finally find true happiness as a successful artist despite
the lack of normalcy. It represented the hope that all the pain and suffering was worth it,
that this is what it was all for, to get to this place—Montmartre.
Toulouse-Lautrec: An Artist Paralleling Himself with the Social Outcast
The class structure of 19th century European society that naturally marginalized
and ostracized Toulouse-Lautrec was neutralized if not extinguished altogether in
Montmartre. His physical ailment—a visible height of obvious short stature juxtaposed to
his noble privilege—was not viewed as a freak of nature in the quarters as it was in the
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establishment. Ultimately, his physical ailment had a different effect in Montmartre. In
Montmartre, Toulouse-Lautrec was not refused the opportunity to be seen as a legitimate
member of bohemian society, since there were no standards and expectations of normalcy
that the artist had to meet and live up to that would cause his physical ailment to become
a factor. This in turn meant he did not face an ostracized experience in Montmartre as a
social outcast, since the entire community was comprised of outcasts. This is what
caused him to find refuge in the bohemian society of Montmartre Paris. It’s where he
paralleled his life experience with the 19th-century social outcast who unmistakably
became his new subject matter in his new avant-garde art. It’s his move to Montmartre,
the outcast as subject matter and his avant-garde art that created his artistic legacy as we
know it today.
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARIES & CONCLUSION
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Physical Ailment’s Psychological and Behavioral Impact
Toulouse-Lautrec abandoned and betrayed the very establishment that
marginalized and ostracized him by becoming a bohemian outside the class structure
altogether. This was punishment for their own acts of abandonment and betrayal.
Therefore, now it is time to analyze the physical ailment’s psychological and behavioral
impact on him and others. First the impact it had on himself. Next the impact it had on his
parents Alphonse and Adèle, including the rest of the family. Then the impact it held with
the demimonde women and male anarchists as social outcasts of the time. It’s time to
analyze his vengeful acts of defiance, such as his public displays of nudity and defecation
captured in photography in the late 1890s. In addition, his alcoholism and contraction of
Syphilis that led up to his death quite early in his thirties. Finally, to analyze how his
physical ailment’s impact played a role in all of these decisions and events as he
paralleled himself with the social outcast in Montmartre.
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Psychological and Behavioral Impact of his Physical Ailment on Himself
I will always be a thoroughbred hitched up to a rubbish cart.—Henri de Toulouse-
Lautrec505
As an individual, Toulouse-Lautrec was very much “the other” living in 19th-
century aristocracy. Even though he had many relatives who also suffered from ailments
due to genetic inbreeding, he was arguably intellectually brilliant and artistically gifted
within his own family. His duly noted mental and creative superiority was in extreme
505 Frey, 378.
103 103
contrast by his perceived physical inferiority due to his physical ailment—suspected
pycnodysostosis—along with his short stature. This contradiction of his mental strength
versus his physical weakness must have been extremely frustrating if not torturous as he
grasped towards social and cultural power despite states of helplessness. His physical
ailment truly offered him no strength or power and only contributed weakness and
helplessness throughout his entire life. He couldn’t get rid of it and nobody could take it
away from him—he was stuck with it and it was his—it was his “I,” his “Me,” his “Self,”
his identity and he had no choice in the matter. This was his baseline where he began and
finished all things. Due to this alienation of being trapped inside his own body like a
prisoner he must have felt his “otherness” around people and saw it reflected back at him
through their own behavior and throughout the environment.
Yes, he was a French (seemingly heterosexual) male born and raised in 19-
century privileged French aristocracy, but unfortunately, his physical ailment had the
weight and power to strip him of these just birthrights as it essentially cancelled-out the
status of his skin color, nationality, gender, orientation, wealth, and aristocracy. This was
all possible since on the higher echelon, his physical ailment was a social and cultural
liability in the hierarchy and class structure. Toulouse-Lautrec in his physical ailment
wasn’t appreciated or valued as an asset by the higher class and this is why he didn’t
appreciate or value his loss of status when he officially and permanently moved to
Montmartre. Essentially he had nothing to lose, since he had already lost, according to
the elitist standards and expectations of the establishment Bruant sang about in his Le
Mirliton nightclub.
Eventually Toulouse-Lautrec would have encountered a developmental stage
where his “Self” began to take shape as it detached from the rest of the world. As
mentioned earlier, his physical ailment really didn’t begin to manifest its external and
internal ailments as a toddler. But at some time, Toulouse-Lautrec would have seen
104 104
himself in a mirror or photograph. Eventually that reflection must have communicated his
difference from others, reinforcing his unique “otherness” not just in his physical pain
and suffering, but also in visual image, via possible pycnodysostosis characteristics (large
cranial and body appendages). Not to mention a short stature and socio-cultural faux pas
of a frequent runny nose and drooling mouth. His perception of himself as “other” only
compromised whatever he pursued in life since it always answered to his physical
ailment’s taxing existence. In many cases, he worked harder than his fellows around him
(if not better) only to be found in a marginalized and ostracized outcome. For example,
he excelled in academia and painting, just to find himself immobile if not bedridden—
like punishment—forbidding any pursuit he desired. The older he became, the more
apparent his physical deficits due to his ailment translated as social and cultural
deficiency as well. His physical ailment was a constant source of guilt, shame and
humiliation in regard to pursuits since it had the ability to function as a saboteur, an
unwelcomed part of “the Self”.
But some might argue there was a long-term learned conditioning taking place
surrounding Toulouse-Lautrec’s physical ailment. This could alternatively help to explain
the artist’s abandonment of the establishment for the opposing bohemianism of
Montmartre. In theory, the artist would have learned to negatively associate his physical
ailment with aristocracy. This would also include a negative association with their social
and cultural traits, including hierarchy and class. Most of his pain and suffering occurred
in the company of his aristocratic family, including his two major femur fractures and his
long periods of solitary bed confinement. It would have been difficult to keep positive
feelings and opinions about an environment constantly associated with pain and
suffering. Montmartre was the most farthest removed environment from Toulouse-
Lautrec’s aristocracy and the overall establishment it fell under. Theoretically, this could
be an alternative explanation for his déclassé move from aristocracy to bohemianism.
105 105
Interestingly, there is a famous photograph of the artist taken in 1891 by his friend
and photographer, Maurice Guibert. In this well-known photograph, Guibert (along with
the artist’s furia no doubt) practiced a sort of “trick” photography creating the dual
“mirror image” of his Montmartre friend (Figure 30). What is even more interesting is the
title given to the image: Mr. Toulouse paints Mr. Lautrec. It is safe to say, the artist
probably didn’t need the photographer to consider the concept of two different persons
abiding in his body. This sense of duality, split-identities, hauntingly reminds us of the
literary myth of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. These dual personalities of existence, one of
self-preservation and one of self-sabotage could be considered a good versus evil
archetypal battle.
Figure 30 - Mr. Toulouse paints Mr. Lautrec circa 1891 - Photograph (Photographer:
Maurice Guibert 1856-1913) (No Copyright/PD-old) commons.wikimedia.org
106 106
His privileged noble aristocrat side that desired to be formally educated as a
gentleman and academically trained as an artist was his Dr. Jekyll. His déclassé outcast
bohemian side that desired the debauchery of alcoholism, prostitutes and sex found in
bars, brothels and nightclubs was his Mr. Hyde. Perhaps the Hyde archetype is Mr.
Lautrec named in the photograph, while his Dr. Jekyll is Mr. Toulouse, the artist in front
of his canvas. The title of the photograph only speaks to the clever intelligence and
charming wit of Toulouse-Lautrec.
His physical ailment with its deformity, ability to torment, and dark history had to
be assigned to the “ugly” Mr. Hyde. It was a part of “the Self” that even his Dr. Jekyll
had to face and admit existed when it decided to show up and inflict its pain and suffering
upon the artist. Hypothetically, Dr. Jekyll would have been an asset in the establishment,
but Mr. Hyde in all his deformity and deficiency was total liability. Their co-existence
was a package deal, trapped together in the same body, meaning if you reject one, you
rejected them both, the good with the bad. This was very much the case with Toulouse-
Lautrec. Those who rejected him for his physical ailment also rejected his intellectual
brilliance and artistic gift as a human being. This is why he said he would always be a
thoroughbred hitched up to a rubbish cart.
Toulouse-Lautrec: His Father Alphonse
“The Old Fool” (Last words the artist spoke).—Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec506
As a father, Alphonse seemed to always hold a passive-aggressive relationship
with his artist son. He was either completely absent or at least distant, showing little
attention and sharing only intermittent experiences with his only son. Alphonse, in his
own convenience and financial desperation, even committed a partial-disinheritance of
506 Frey, 492.
107 107
his son by selling property destined to go to the artist. Alphonse also made insinuations
that he was upset if not ashamed of his son’s newfound identity as a bohemian artist and
Montmartre resident. There is visual proof the artist entertained a variety of signature
styles in his artwork, including stylized Remarque stamps from a Japanese influence
(Figure 31).507 One has to imagine if it was due to his father’s suggestion.
Figure 31 - Self-Invented Remarque Stamp Signature of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
(1864-1901) (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
Sadly, Toulouse-Lautrec basically lived a father-less existence. Never did the
artist live alone with his father Alphonse during his childhood and never did his father
come to live with his successful and famous son in Montmartre. Alphonse’s relation is
the antithesis of the relationship his son held with his mother. The lifelong vacuum space
that existed between the artist and his father must have developed some scar tissue, even
if it was repressed or resisted. Freud’s Oedipal Complex uses psychoanalytic theory to
507 Frey, 401.
108 108
help explain unconscious dynamics between a male child and their male and female
parents.
Art historian Griselda Pollock makes multiple parallels between Toulouse-
Lautrec’s general art subject matter as it relates to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of the
unconscious, specifically on fetishism.508 A fetish is when “an object or bodily part
whose real or fantasied presence” becomes “psychologically necessary” for an individual
to express devotion, reverence or sexual gratification.509 Fetishism is the function of that
fetish acting out in the individual’s life per se. Her argument touches on the theoretical
dynamics that exist between Alphonse and his artist son. For instance, it could be argued
Alphonse played a bigger role in the development of his son’s bohemian art, despite his
overall distance and detachment as father from his déclassé offspring.
As an example, Pollock argues the image of the cocked leg in black stocking
found in the poster Jane Avril Jardin de Paris (1893) as art subject (iconographic bodily
part) is actually a signifier of Alphonse’s black socked cocked-leg image seen and
memorialized in well-documented photography of the artist’s eccentric father.510 Such
visual imagery signified Alphonse’s own manly legacy and helped to shape its iconic role
with his artist son and the rest of the Toulouse-Lautrec family.
Pollock goes on to suggest that Avril’s cocked leg is the “phallic substitute and
stand-in” for Alphonse’s own phallic cocked leg found in family photography that was
undoubtedly seared into the psyche of his artist son, including the unconscious.511
Historically, Alphonse had a well-known undeniable physical lifestyle, one his artist son
508 Griselda Pollock, Differencing the Cannon: Feminist Desire and the Writing of Arts Histories
(London: Routledge, 1999) 65.
509 Merriam-Webster, fetish.
510 Pollock, 71.
511 Pollock, 70-75.
109 109
could not meet, fulfill or sustain due to his physical ailment and all its causes and effects.
Yet, the black-socked cocked leg of Alphonse captured in photograph signifies the
artist’s physically competent and sexually potent absentee father in proud masculine
stance.512 Therefore, theoretically speaking, this parallel Pollock has identified is a
possible unconscious projection of desire for the artist’s own absentee father through the
displacement of his father’s own iconic bodily image onto that of Jane Avril.513
The cocked leg shared between Alphonse and Jane Avril is the phallus object that
becomes the symbolic penis. As a disavowed son, who was longing to identify with a
physically and otherwise unavailable father, Toulouse-Lautrec managed to express such
repressed desire (devotion or reverence) through his art, by transcribing his father’s
bodily image onto the female body of Jane Avril.514 In Toulouse-Lautrec’s case,
transcribing the male bodily image onto the female’s protects the artist from desiring his
father “inappropriately” such as incestuously or homosexually, including any desire for
his father’s penis515 Alphonse in all his peculiarity, was ironically desirable. He was a
masculine aristocrat man whose life revolved around the physical dominance of the
environment through the hunting and training of animals as well as the seduction of
women via his manly attributes. But unfortunately, due to Toulouse-Lautrec’s physical
ailment, Alphonse’s traditional fatherly resources were denied to his one and only son,
theoretically triggering these repressed fetishistic desires for his father.
Toulouse-Lautrec was cut off from having paternal intimacy with his father
Alphonse. He was cut off from the powerful influence his father Alphonse had with
seducing women via his masculine prowess. Not to mention how the artist was cut off by
512 Pollock, 70-72.
513 Pollock, 71-72.
514 Pollock, 71-72.
515 Pollock, 67-70.
110 110
all the countless father and son experiences (or lack thereof) that must have been denied
to him throughout his lifetime due to his physical ailment.
This cut off experience from his father Alphonse along with all its masculine
signifiers could easily be argued under psychoanalytic theory (especially Freudian) as an
act of symbolic castration for the artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.516 Hence, the artist’s
development of the black cocked leg fetish originating from a signified body part of an
absentee father unto the opposite sex as a psychological protection from homoeroticism
as he expressed desire and longing for his father.517 This castrated state might also help
to explain other subject matter and iconographic imagery within his artwork
psychoanalytically speaking as suggested by Pollock. Nevertheless, it’s important to note
that such an unconscious artistic reflection of a symbolic castration of the artist is directly
contingent only on the existence of his physical ailment and its negative effect it had on
his relationship with his father Alphonse. Perhaps this is why Pollock was able to so
quickly identify the parallel between Alphonse’s cocked leg imagery captured in
photography and Jane Avril’s cocked-leg imagery captured in art (Figures 32 and 33). If
there is indeed validity to the connection between Jane Avril’s image and Alphonse, it
could easily then be categorized as a repressed desire and longing for the artist to finally
connect to his father and his father’s famous legacy, even if only expressed
unconsciously through his art. In addition, the artist’s own attention seeking
exhibitionism (including cross-dressing in women’s clothing) was an eccentric behavior
he shared in common with Alphonse and continued to practice years later. It was possibly
a symbolic gesture to reconnect with his father who he privately admired, desired and
emulated despite the painful estrangement.
516 Pollock, 73-74.
517 Pollock, 70-74.
111 111
Figure 32 - The Artist's Father Alphonse dressed in Exotic Scottish Kilt as Falcon
Hunting Highlander circa late 19th century – Photograph (Public Use and Share Use
under U.S. Copyright Fair Use Act: https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html)
Image Link: http://ekladata.com/[email protected] (The
Image referenced by Pollock to suggest a visual signifier existed between Alphonse and
his son’s art subject)
112 112
Figure 33 - Jane Avril Jardin de Paris by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec circa 1893 – Color
Lithograph Poster (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
(The Image referenced by Pollock to corroborate a visual signifier between Alphonse and
son’s art in form of Jane Avril)
113 113
Toulouse-Lautrec: His Mother Adèle
My dear Mama, you are definitely a Hen who hatched a famous Duck.― Henri de
Toulouse-Lautrec518
As mother, Adèle was everything Alphonse was not. She was more than her son’s
mother. She was also his friend and confidant, especially in the dual absence of her
husband and son’s father Alphonse. She also played the role as watchdog protector and
preventative caretaker in regard to his physical ailment and its conditions. She was also
his advocate for higher education and art agent right up until his own discovery of
Montmartre. Most importantly, she was his financial lifeline, even during an adulthood
filled with personal success, fame, and art sales. It is safe to say there was mutual co-
dependency in their relationship, even if much of it was quite positive and beneficial.
Basically, Adèle’s life was devoted to her son and the physical ailment gave her the
perfect reason if not excuse to actually deny her son some of the personal independence
and adult autonomy he needed and desired. No one could question the obvious love,
commitment and devotion of Adèle, but much of it was probably the displaced affection
of a single mother absent of her own husband. Her son was “the man in her life” and in
turn, Adèle was the “woman in Toulouse-Lautrec’s life”. These roles didn’t change much
for either one, minus her son’s private out of sight rendezvous in Montmartre. Adèle’s
supervision of her son was constant. Toulouse-Lautrec even though greatly benefiting
from his and her dependency, must have dreamed of more. His move into the Montmartre
quarters confirmed as much and functioned as a detachment from her, a first chance to
finally experience some individuation.
In 1882, just two years before his move to Montmartre, the artist created a telling
charcoal drawing of himself titled and signed Lost (Figure 34). The self-portrait drawing
518 “9Quotes,”accessed April 29, 2020, (www.9quotes.com)
https://www.9quotes.com/quote/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec-478019.
114 114
registers strong impressions of vulnerability, humility, melancholy and alienation. It is a
black and white caricature of him resting on what looks to be a chamber pot, which could
hold both literal and symbolic meaning. A chamber pot in the 19 th century, just like it is
today, is essentially a portable toilet, a container one urinates or defecates in literally. The
artist is seen on the pot (as if using it) in his composition, but its presence and purpose
can still hold deeper meaning than the obvious. Socially and culturally it can symbolize
excretion, filth, rubbish, the rejected or the abject as it relates to a member or group in a
society.
Figure 34 - Lost (Self-Portrait) circa 1882 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec – Charcoal
Drawing (Source: Julia Frey/No Copyright/PD-old) commons.wikimedia.org
115 115
His drawing could have been a “cry for help” in regard to his overall wellbeing. If
the artist meant to associate his own body, identity or life with that which goes into the
pot or the pot itself, it is a highly self-deprecating symbol. Arguably, this image embodies
how the older the artist became, the more a social and cultural liability his physical
ailment also became with its detrimental cause and effects on his mental and emotional
health. He could no longer bear to survive in his mother’s world; it was too taxing due to
his ambitions despite his condition.
In hindsight, it is now apparent Toulouse-Lautrec was much more progressive and
evolved in thought than his mother. His lifelong risqué choices prove he never had
intentions to live her restricted pious lifestyle. It is also important to note the artist
obviously kept some of his personal interests and activities a secret from her. His gradual
drift from his mother along with his quick assimilation in Montmartre demonstrates he
could have been harboring déclassé desires long before his move to Montmartre in 1884.
Potential fantasies and pursuits of alcohol, sex, prostitutes and brothels were interests and
activities the artist knew were better left hidden.
Yet still, it would be next to impossible to speak on all the shared
communications of both mother and son, since their correspondence was endless. The
letters they both wrote each other (sometimes daily) could fill a private library. The take
away from their sacred mother and child relationship was that to him, she was his pious
martyred mother and to her, he was her only begotten noble son. Just another complicated
archetypal role of dualities played out in the artist’s life.
Finally, his quote that referred to his mother as a hen and himself as a duck is not
lost in translation. She was indeed his “mother hen” always protective and caring (even if
too much) and he was “her ugly duckling” who understandably felt lost in his denied
“Self” living in a controlled environment.
116 116
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Demimonde Women
The wise woman patterns her life on the theory and practice of modern banking…She
never gives her love, but only lends it on the best security and at the highest rate of
interest.—Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec519
Now that the artist truly knew what it was to be lost in his own identity and life
experience, it was time to parallel such a similar sentiment in his flagrant image of a
prostitute painted in 1896, titled Alone (Figure 35). The artwork is part of the artist’s
Elles (Them) series of demimonde women. Her black stockings cannot go unnoticed after
Pollock’s analysis of their fetishistic significance connected back to Alphonse. The
image is striking for the prostitute’s provocative bodily position. First, she is lying down
on what looks like a bed created in the negative space of the cardboard medium. She is on
her back. Her eyes are closed as if resting, asleep, or worse. She is face up with her neck
exposed. Her arms and hands seem useless with muscle fatigue. Her overall body seems
flopped down on the bed. Finally her black stocking-clad legs look to be parted while she
seems unaware of her surroundings in an unsettling if not frightening display. The viewer
is confronted with the prostitute’s probable recent service to a client, she is left alone in
its aftermath, bringing the title to fruition.
The demimonde women, including the prostitutes who were with Toulouse-
Lautrec, did experience sexual intimacy with his physical ailment and all its conditions.
Montmartre’s adult atmosphere and sex establishments would have created a higher
probability of sexual encounters for any visitor or resident. The same would be true for
Toulouse-Lautrec, regardless of his physical ailment. The historical evidence does show
he was successful with demimonde women despite his physical ailment, but it was a
success directly contingent on the environment of Montmartre.
519 “Quote Master: Quotes about everything,” Quote Master I Quotes about Everything, accessed
April 30, 2020, (https://www.quotemaster.org.)
https://www.quotemaster.org/q990ec94cef224ce7cdf3c85f76523ef3.
117 117
Figure 35 - Alone (Elles) circa 1896 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec –Oil on Cardboard
(No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
These demimonde women were the only women his mother had to compete with
to keep the affections of her son. Each one was her own demi-mondaine of the time that
entered his life quietly, privately, anonymously and secretly behind Adèle’s back while
he made every attempt to keep up his appearance of respectability and nobility around his
mother. His choice was not out of maliciousness per se, but probably out of his own
convenience, avoidance and survival. At the very least, he remained silent on the
significant role these women played in his adult life on behalf of his mother’s own sense
of respectability and nobility.
It was his job to balance the virtuous woman with the risqué demi-mondaine
woman. A potentially challenging prospect since his mother’s presence in his life over-
shadowed him immensely. But while in the heart of Montmartre, her son could
metaphorically “cheat” on their relationship with the demimonde women.
118 118
These women were a vital resource for Toulouse-Lautrec in multiple ways. He
gained sex from them, artistic inspiration, model access, conversation, accompaniment,
friendship, and possibly even love. These were resources seemingly unattainable to the
artist from any other social class of women. Because of this fact, it really didn’t matter
these women were devalued in their demimonde status and avoided as outcasts by the
respectable and noble.
Édouard Manet’s Olympia of 1865 (Figure 36) is a worthwhile image to consider
when evaluating Toulouse-Lautrec’s parallel to déclassé demimonde women of the 19 th
century. According to art historian T.J. Clark, Manet’s Olympia image is of a proposed
prostitute of the 19th century.520 Yet, her identification in the social hierarchy of the time
is difficult to place in comparison to the typical canon of female classic nudes and
courtesan paintings.521 As Clark argues, in the 19th century, women of Manet’s kind who
had traditionally been confined to the “edges of society” were becoming more apparent in
mainstream society, giving them the power to actually alter the social and cultural
dynamic, as they “usurped the center of things…making the city over in their image.”522
This subsequently added a sense of confusion in an established society structured around
hierarchy and class, a characteristic unwelcomed by the top echelons such as the
bourgeoisie and aristocracy.523 As Clark notes, “the difference between the middle and
the margin of the social order became blurred” and Manet’s Olympia signified that
blurred confusion creating such controversy.524
520 Timothy J. Clark, The Painting of Modern Life: Paris in the Art of Manet and His Followers
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press, 1984) 79.
521 Clark, 79.
522 Clark, 79.
523 Clark, 79.
524 Clark, 79.
119 119
Figure 36 - Olympia circa 1865 by Édouard Manet – Oil on Canvas (No Copyright/Public
Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
But for the record, Toulouse-Lautrec’s progressive movement between two social
classes also blurred the lines of the establishment. The born and raised nobleman’s
transformation from aristocrat to bohemian also made him difficult to place, similar to
Manet’s Olympia. As Toulouse-Lautrec paralleled himself with the social outcast, he also
found himself confined to the edges of society. Toulouse-Lautrec’s déclassé movement
from higher to lower class was atypical of the bourgeoisie and aristocracy. His new
freedom found in Bohemia created a sense of confusion for his aristocrat family and the
19th century establishment. His downward class movement and social and cultural
transformation was also unwelcomed, even though it’s what gave Toulouse-Lautrec the
power to alter his own dynamic as it related to his marginalized and ostracized
experience. As this new identity transformed his art, it also usurped the center of things,
as Toulouse-Lautrec replaced mainstream society’s “noble lady” with the art model,
female entertainer, prostitute and lesbian—his demimonde women.
120 120
Truly, Manet might have started the presentation of demimonde women (like the
prostitute) as modern art subject matter—but Toulouse-Lautrec ran with it, continued it,
if not finished it—as one of its greatest presenter’s altogether.
It is interesting to note how Manet’s infamous Olympia of 1865 relates to
Toulouse-Lautrec, artistically and even personally, in a haphazard circumstance of
unexpected parallels. Ironically, Manet presented his Olympia as a prostitute and art
subject matter as early as 1865 (when Toulouse-Lautrec was only one year old) which
challenged the 19th century establishment through the power of visual art.
But serendipitously, one day Toulouse-Lautrec literally met Olympia in person—
at least the woman who was Manet’s model.525 Her name was Victorine Meurent and in
her later years, she also lived in Montmartre.526 Her residence was on the rue de Douai
and she was Manet’s art model from 1862-1874.527 Visitors described her then as a
“stooped, old, wrinkled and nearly bald” woman who answered the door.528 Toulouse-
Lautrec, according to others, would gift her “chocolates or a bouquet of flowers” as his
friends were introduced to the famous model.529 Toulouse-Lautrec made it a habit to take
an oblivious friend to visit Olympia, undoubtedly basking in the profoundness of his
feat.530 In addition, it has been documented that Toulouse-Lautrec “contributed 100
francs to help purchase Olympia for the Louvre in 1889.”531
The prostitute was the ultimate demi-mondaine of the 19th century. Toulouse-
Lautrec valued her as an asset despite the grievance against her behavior and existence as
525 Frey, 418.
526 Frey, 418.
527 Frey, 418.
528 Frey, 418.
529 Frey, 418.
530 Frey, 418.
531 Frey, 418-19.
121 121
a deplorable liability. He relied on her for multiple resources and a willingness to
accommodate his physical ailment for sex, companionship, and friendship. This was an
accommodation he couldn’t and wouldn’t find elsewhere with other women. Even though
the artist seemed to appreciate these women patterning their lives like a modern business,
withholding their love to only lend it out, they were the closest thing he ever experienced
to having true love with a woman.
Manet’s Olympia represented these women who accommodated him, especially in
his physical condition. Perhaps this is why he went out of his way to keep her and the
archetypal prostitute alive for himself and others by paying her visits, nobly introducing
his friends to her and offering his respect with a gift of chocolates or flowers.
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Male Anarchists
It is easy to see how male anarchists could stand in as surrogate father-figures and
masculine role models for Toulouse-Lautrec. They were men who filled in the vast void
that Alphonse left in his son’s life. They were bold and daring in their protest against
social injustice and in their demands for equality. They used a platform of creativity to
circulate their message to the world, whether it was musical, lyrical, theatrical, or literary.
The delivery of that message became entertainment for the audience while the talent itself
became their art.
His parallel with the male anarchist must have been exceptionally reinforcing to
the artist, since it not only validated an outcast experience, but also any repressed desire
and longing for male-to-male bonding denied to him by his father’s estrangement. Truly,
Toulouse-Lautrec had engaged with fellow men since his move to Paris, like his rapins in
the atelier. But the male anarchist was not the typical man since his title as anarchist
meant he took risks that threatened his physical safety and freedom. Such anarchists were
threatened with police arrest and overall retaliation in their vocal outcries and activist
122 122
behaviors. Many had been arrested and knew what it was to serve time or pay fines for
their personal beliefs on justice and equality. Maybe the establishment labeled them a
déclassé outcast, but for Toulouse-Lautrec and others, they were heroic in their identity
and experience.
A dive deeper in psychoanalytic theory might even discover the male anarchists’
extended function in Toulouse-Lautrec’s life was to fulfill and sustain the very role that
the artist could never live up to due to his physical ailment. By unconsciously keeping
these strong and powerful males in his intimate circle (even if just as art subject) the artist
was able to symbolically fulfill and sustain the role of a strong and powerful heroic
masculine male with full stature. Since he could not fulfill it, he had them fulfill it for
him. He trusted them in his own admiration of them, so whatever they could achieve,
especially on his behalf, it only made their behavior more rewarding to the artist. Such
positive reinforcement only solidified their relations.
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Vengeful Acts of Defiance as it Relates to his Physical Ailment
As Toulouse-Lautrec found his success and fame as an avant-garde bohemian
artist living in 19th-century Montmartre, unfortunately a progressive decline in his
physical, mental and emotional health occurred as the incline of risky, self-destructive
behavior. In his achievement as successful risqué outcast and famous déclassé artist, he
seemed to reach the point of existence where his past met with his future, and it was a
volatile meeting of two opposing worlds of reality and experience. There were probably
conflicts in truth and emotion the artist cared to forget via the unconscious defense
mechanisms of repression and resistance as he became an artist living in Paris. His
physical ailment with all its conditions and dark history was in absolute contradiction to
his personal success, fame and long overdue acceptance found in Montmartre. It is
common to witness successful and famous people sabotage their redemption as they
123 123
attempt to deny their past’s existence and its impact on their lives. Toulouse-Lautrec’s
physical ailment was the cause and effect of his dark past and now it had moved with him
into his present and was going to have a significant say on his future.
It was time to face the truth since denial for the sake of survival had played its
role in the past, but now he was free living in an accepting niche of society, whatever had
been repressed or resisted came to the surface to finally be addressed by his conscious
Self. What Toulouse-Lautrec had gone though as a child and adolescent was stressful and
traumatic, and arguably, he might have had characteristics of post-traumatic-stress-
disorder (PTSD). The artist was not known to have sought out any professional
counseling or treatment to address his physical ailment and its consequences to his
overall life.
It’s not uncommon for human beings to turn to substance abuse and self-
destructive behavior if overwhelmed with conditions and circumstances they find
unacceptable or unbearable. Of course, his art functioned as his “therapist” as he
paralleled himself with fellow social outcasts who had similar marginalized and
ostracized experiences. Toulouse-Lautrec gained validation and legitimacy by making
these fellow outcasts his art subject, vicariously reaping the rewards of their own identity
and experience. This was a vengeful act of defiance toward the social hierarchy and class
structure of aristocracy.
This not only protected himself from further personal rejection (by using his own
image) but it also gave him the means to use these outcasts’ images as a “dagger” to
inflict his own pain and suffering onto the establishment. This was punishment for their
own acts of abandonment and betrayal of him. This was also all because of his physical
ailment and its lifelong cause and effect on his entire life.
124 124
The question is whether or not his vengeful acts of defiance were conscious
choices or unconscious acts? Toulouse-Lautrec displayed additional vengeful acts of
defiance, beyond his canvas, leading up to his final days.
Toulouse-Lautrec: His Alcoholism
Of course one should not drink much, but often.—Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec532
Alcohol was a common substance found in the quarters of Montmartre. Artists
aren’t known for their abstinence from pleasure, so not surprisingly Toulouse-Lautrec
loved a good drink, like many artists. However, due to his physical ailment, he brought
many variables to the glass, bottle or bar that others did not. His physical ailment’s dark
past was a precursor to alcohol’s potential threat to the artist’s overall health. Yet,
Toulouse-Lautrec, in his celebration of—final freedom, found acceptance, sexual
liberation, art success and fame—did indulge in alcohol. It was just one of the many
pleasures Montmartre had to offer and the artist took advantage of its availability.
It not difficult to document that Toulouse-Lautrec was an alcoholic and that its
consequences probably contributed to his early demise.533 Its development even caused
him to experience “alcoholic hallucinations” to the point where his mother with the
assistance of others had to intervene for his own health and safety.534
The artist eventually earned the reputation as a heavy drinker who had to drink
while making art and who became upset if you did not drink with him.535 The alcohol
532 Frey, 472.
533 Frey, 469.
534 Frey, 469.
535 Frey, 347.
125 125
and its possible intoxication obviously relaxed his body tremendously, since others often
witnessed the spectacle of him sleeping in public.536
Hypothetically speaking, the long term use of alcohol would have had a greater
impact on his already compromised physiological anatomy and skeleton than the typical
drinker. One must remember, due to his supposed pycnodysostosis, he would have
possibly had internal organs or systems potentially compromised on the genetic level. If
such was the case, the artist’s consumption of alcohol (abusive or otherwise) would have
had possible unknown outcomes. Expectedly, these would be quite unfavorable.
Generally speaking, many civilizations and cultures have already discovered that
drinking alcohol numbs the human body from feeling physical pain. Therefore, it could
be possible when the artist drank (especially continually) it functioned to alleviate the
known pain and suffering of his physical ailment. Examples of such pain could be
throbbing, inflammation, aches, swelling, soreness, tenderness, as well as others. It would
then be understandable that the artist might have had a therapeutic motive that drove him
to drink alcohol, including the volume. Of course, it is also understandable that such a
possible relationship existing between drinking alcohol and pain alleviation could lead to
tolerance, addiction and even alcoholism. If this is what did occur as it related to
Toulouse-Lautrec and his alcoholism, then it is just more evidence his physical ailment is
key to examining his life, including his art.
But his eventual developed alcoholism could have also been a consequence of his
desire to numb mental and emotional pain as well—with too many to list—going back to
his early childhood. It wouldn’t be surprising to discover his developed alcoholism was
related to the effects of his parents and their dysfunctional relationship as much as his
physical ailment. The artist was never able to count Alphonse as a close, intimate, caring,
536 Frey, 347.
126 126
loving, supportive father and he was never able to replace his mother’s love with that of
another woman’s love such as a wife. These were two wounds he was never able to
mend. Perhaps the alcohol numbed their pain. He lived up to his words, for he drank
often.
Toulouse-Lautrec: His Contraction of Syphilis
Love is a disease which fills you with a desire to be desired.—Henri de Toulouse-
Lautrec537
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease which was rampant at times during the
19th century.538 There was no cure and it was contracted on various levels of the 19 th-
century social class hierarchy.539 The infected novelist, Gustavbe Flaubert was reported
as saying, “Everybody has it more or less.”540 Many of society’s famous social and
cultural leaders had died from the disease in the 19th century.541 It is believed that the
number infected with Syphilis was far greater than what the statistics claimed in the 19 th-
century.542 There is a progression of the disease with different stages of development
showing specific symptoms that can ultimately lead to death.543 Lesions were often the
first signs on the infected and in their eventual healing, it misled them (and others) to
believe they were no longer contagious.544
537 “100% Sourced Quotations,” Lib Quotes, accessed May 3, 2020, (https://libquotes.com/)
https://libquotes.com/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec/quote/lbu0z3p.
538 Frey, 202.
539 Frey, 202.
540 Frey, 203.
541 Frey, 203.
542 Frey, 203.
543 Frey, 202-203.
544 Frey, 202.
127 127
Historically, in the patriarchal society of the 19th century, married men would visit
brothels or an individual prostitute and then return home to infect their wives who in turn
infected their unborn children.545 There has been a theory that Alphonse gave the disease
to Adèle who then transferred congenital syphilis to their son, resulting in the physical
ailment and his short stature.546 This belief has been buttressed by Alphonse’s bachelor
reputation and the disease’s uncontrolled spread at the time, especially “among
prostitutes and those frequenting them.”547 It has been suggested his own infection could
have been “extremely likely.”548 However, there seems to be no evidence of Syphilis
symptoms reported in Adèle or Alphonse.549 One cannot help but notice the congruency
that exists around Alphonse’s lifestyle (and the accusations that exist) and his son’s
accused lifestyle as a bohemian and artist.
Nevertheless, there is significant circumstantial evidence that Toulouse-Lautrec
had contracted Syphilis. The evidence available is that after his “sexual initiation”
occurred, while studying with his fellow rapins in the atelier, it was discovered he was
visiting a specific prostitute known in the quarters by the name Rosa La Rouge.550 She
had conveniently named herself after a woman in a famous Bruant song.551 According to
others, the artist was “warned she had Syphilis.”552 Unfortunately, “either it was too late”
545 Frey, 202.
546 Frey, 202.
547 Frey, 202.
548 Frey, 202.
549 Frey, 203.
550 Frey, 202.
551 Frey, 202.
552 Frey, 202.
128 128
or for some unknown reason, he disregarded the warning, or as others have suggested he
was, “unable to control his impulses.”553
But even if the latter was true, the artist had lived most of his life in confined
environments with long periods of physical immobility. There was a slim chance that an
exercise of restraint was going to be practiced by Toulouse-Lautrec in Montmartre. His
physical ailment played a key role in his explosion of indulgence. To bystanders, looking
at his life without its context, some of his personal choices might have seemed
unintelligible.
There is a claim the artist’s cousin, good friend and medical student Gabriel Tapié
de Céleyran had supposedly informed the French writer Sylvain Bonmariage (1887-1966)
that his cousin was infected with Syphilis.554 As late as 1947, Bonmariage went on
record to confirm what Céleyran had told him about the late artist.555
Toulouse-Lautrec’s physical ailment and all its conditions and discomforts
actually operated as a cover to mask some of his new ailments, such as alcoholism and
Syphilis. It is fair to say, there came a point in his life, where the artist’s body had to
contend with his physical ailment and its conditions, compounded by the progression of
alcoholism and Syphilis. The artist now had three conditions simultaneously afflicting
his body. Further, their progressions seemed to share symptoms which made it more
difficult to conclude the causing factor of his appearance and behavior.556 This might
have either slowed or stopped the intervention from others (such as his mother) since it
could have easily been assumed his symptoms were due to his physical ailment and not
alcoholism or Syphilis.
553 Frey, 202.
554 Frey, 203.
555 Frey, 203.
556 Frey, 202-203.
129 129
His ability to theoretically hide the cause of his physical condition becomes of
importance when you consider the closeness of his mother Adèle. She was already known
to explain away her son’s major physical ailment conditions as something minor and less
serious.557 Even though the disease was well-known and common, Toulouse-Lautrec
“might of gone to great lengths to hide this information” from his mother, since it would
instantly reveal his private Montmartre lifestyle, including sex.558 Masquerading the
symptoms of alcoholism and Syphilis as just conditions of his physical ailment was a way
to protect himself and his mother from more pain and suffering.
A contraction of Syphilis is an unfortunate consequence that many in the 19th
century suffered. But its inconvenient existence, does not mean one’s pursuit of
happiness, love, affection and sex should cease to exist. Like his spoken words, desire
was a motive and drive in his quest for what every human being needs, love. Toulouse-
Lautrec wanted to touch and be touched; he wanted to see a nude woman and be seen
nude by a woman; he wanted to experience the body and intimacy of a woman; he
wanted to know what it was like to have sex with a woman; he wanted to kiss and be
kissed; he wanted to hold and be held; and finally, he wanted to love and be loved. These
are all shared birth rights of any human being. These are the human experiences that have
inspired artists, writers, poets, singers, songwriters and musicians for millennia. In many
respects, his physical ailment denied him some (if not most) of these shared birth rights
that so many human beings take for granted. The artist because of his condition and its
expected cause and effect on others, probably took every chance he could in life to
experience the human condition—despite risk and consequence.
557 Frey, 203.
558 Frey, 203.
130 130
Toulouse-Lautrec: Public Display of Nudity circa 1896
I can paint until I'm forty. After that I intend to dry up.—Henri de Toulouse-
Lautrec559
Toulouse-Lautrec in his later years traveled to both southern and northern coastal
communes to vacation with select friends. The Bassin d’ Arcachon found in the south of
France and Le Crotoy in the north of France were two destinations. He loved to fish,
swim, drink, dine and socialize in these vacation spots. According to friend’s accounts,
the artist was a good swimmer.560 It was also said the artist focused on “rowing and
sailing,” making him a competent sailor who didn’t have to worry about getting sea
sick.561 Water seemed to be a flattering medium for his ailed body. It must have freed his
physical ailment’s limitations, showcasing his physical capabilities through buoyancy and
the weightlessness of liquid matter.
During these trips to the French coast in the 1890s, a series of photographs were
taken of the artist. These photographs taken by his fellow vacationers show the artist
committing exhibitionistic displays of public nudity.562 In these photographs the artist is
seen “skinny dipping” in these bodies of water, a behavior that is contrary to the
relationship he held with his own ailed body (Figure 37).
His public nudity contradicts his own practice of layering clothes in the attempt to
shape or construct a more ideal body. His layering of clothes for the sake of a “better or
different” body could be seen as he attempt to hide the body itself, or to hide “the Self”
from others. It could have been an attempt toward both. Further, it is possible his layered
559 Quote Master, accessed May 3, 2020, https://www.quotemaster.org/
q4a5a6c95f7894783a56eef240eb661f8.
560 Frey, 250.
561 Frey, 250.
562 Frey, 484-487.
131 131
Figure 37 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Swimming Completely Nude in the Bassin
d'Arcachon circa 1896 – Photograph (Author: Maurice Guibert) (Creative Commons CC0
1.0 Universal Public Domain/No Copyright) commons.wikimedia.org
clothes gave him a physical support that benefited his body’s frame. It is hard to imagine
the artist didn’t hold an internal private opinion about his own body image. His own
nudity and its public exhibition is the least likely behavior expected from someone who
had his condition. Historically, the artist went to great lengths to control its image and
exposure in public. The photograph archive of Toulouse-Lautrec shows a consistent
formality in his clothing choice, preferring pieces which covered the entirety of his body
minus his head and hands, not to mention a strong tendency to cover his head with hats
and wraps.
132 132
This is what makes his exhibitionist public display of nudity so profound as it
relates to his entire life. There must have been some conscious or unconscious
determiner besides warm temperatures and leisurely swimming, since stripping down
completely nude is not necessary to cool down body temperature or swim. The artist’s
great length to conceal his body must be considered in the analysis as well. If the artist
celebrated the truth of his nude body, such displays would have probably occurred in
other social and cultural settings.
The answer must point back to the liability of his physical ailment in established
society. His public nudity (especially in the Victorian era) cannot just be an innocent
gesture. He is a famous modern artist from French aristocracy. Even though by this time
Toulouse-Lautrec had achieved much, there must have been feelings of abandonment and
betrayal. The artist's father had abandoned him and so did the very establishment where
his noble birthright was supposed to be grounded in aristocracy. In their collective
abandonment, a symbolic neutering occurred, a metaphorical castration. In his nude
exposure, he was able to reclaim his legitimate virility, by not just revealing an intact
penis, but a well-endowed penis, denouncing any states of socio-cultural neuterization or
castration. A vengeful act to reclaim his manhood, literally, since it had been taken away
from him years ago socially, culturally and even regionally. His entire life he had
concealed his body, his physical ailment, that which had caused him so much pain and
suffering, resulting in a consequence with others and the environment.
But in one of these revealing photographs, he is seen flexing his arms, his
muscles, standing proudly as he balances himself on the opposing edges of a boat floating
in the Bassin d’ Arcachon. He holds a posture of traditional masculinity and dominance.
It is possible he felt the progression of disease and alcoholism in his body and believed
his end was near. But he hadn’t dried up yet.
133 133
Toulouse-Lautrec: Public Display of Defecation circa 1898
Through the same collection of photographs of the artist in the late 1890’s there is
still more exhibitionism in a public display of defecation on a beach in Le Crotoy. Even
though his act could be interpreted as a mere prank or joke among fellow comrades, its
deeper semiology speaks closely to his ultimate defiance against the establishment.563
Similar to his nudity, his public act of defecation “thumbs” the overall establishment’s
sense of propriety. As if his déclassé move from aristocracy to bohemia wasn’t enough to
insult the establishment, the artist takes it even a step further with a “personal deplorable
act” which challenges all senses of nobility, respectability and sensibility of the 19 th
century. Similar to the nudity, the artist’s behavior looks to be a conscious decision, but
the desire to commit the act could have manifested from an unconscious intent to target
the establishment.
The photographs show how the artist relieves himself on the beach while being
captured and observed by others on the other side of the lens (Figure 38). Just like the
nudity, it seems out of character, since Toulouse-Lautrec himself could be intolerant of
behavior from others. One photograph shows the artist looking back at the camera and
smiling, an indication of his own free will and desire to participate. His direct gaze into
the camera along with his smile screams of his defiance. His public defecation doesn’t
just defy the establishment, it even defies the many years of planning and negotiations his
parents (especially Adèle) had put in to get him into the best possible academic schools
and art ateliers. Their self-sacrifice wouldn’t appreciate his seemingly unwarranted self-
sabotage more than likely.
563 Frey, 484.
134 134
Figure 38 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Defecating on the Beach at Le Crotoy, Picardie
circa 1898 – Photograph (Author: Maurice Joyant) (No Copyright/Public Domain)
commons.wikimedia.org
The artist had a strong tendency to incorporate images and suggestions of
scatology (feces) and possible urination fetish as seen in his drawings and paintings. If
one gets the opportunity to peruse the art collection of Toulouse-Lautrec, they would
discover compositions displaying: male and female derrières (buttocks), references to
flatulence, anal excretion (the artist’s chamber pot) and urination. The majority of his
fecal and urine references are found in his endless drawings on small simple paper.
However, Toulouse-Lautrec’s large painting The Sacred Grove (1884) shows the artist
urinating in the composition with his back turned to the viewer.564 His entire painting
was a parody of Pierre Puvis de Chavannes painting The Sacred Grove, Beloved of the
564 Frey, 161.
135 135
Arts and the Muses of 1874.565 Both his artworks and these photographs confirm the
artist’s fixation on body excretion. He often mixed their uses with self-deprecation and
satire.
The capture of defecation in art and photography has its literal representation, but
in the case of Toulouse-Lautrec, the excretion of actual fecal matter is probably not the
only point. It could have been a representation of his many experiences of expulsion from
life’s privileges and opportunities. He was the excrement that was being expelled from
society, his life or life itself. It could have also referenced a private sexual fetish with
excretion in general. By incorporating it in his art humorously, he was able to indulge in
it without confessing its true meaning to others.
At first glance, this display of public defecation might just look like “an old fool”
relieving himself on a beach because there is no other place due to the isolation. But such
an analysis would be inaccurate. For it’s the defiled act of an outcast, protesting socio-
cultural injustice and inequality like an anarchist. Like the adult female entertainer, he
exposes himself for mere spectacle. Utilizing his body to get what he wants like a
prostitute—the opportunity to betray and abandon the very establishment that
marginalized and ostracized him—punishment for their own abandonment and betrayal.
Toulouse-Lautrec: Insane Asylum circa 1899
All confined things die. ― Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec566
In or around the year of 1899, Toulouse-Lautrec was checked into a private insane
asylum at Neuilly.567 His mother Adèle had made the decision with the counsel and
565 Frey, 161.
566 “Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec – Artist Biography with a Portfolio of His Most Famous
Paintings and Drawings,” Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Paintings, Prints & Artwork, accessed May 3, 2020,
(http://henritoulouselautrec.org/) http://www.henritoulouselautrec.org/quotes/.
567 Frey, 456.
136 136
assistance of multiple others after a series of troubling events had occurred with her
son.568
Some of these events were “drunken sprees and public embarrassments.”569
Apparently, he had also physically “collapsed in the street.”570 A possible attack of
paralysis had occurred, triggered by “an attack of delirium tremens” which subsequently
took place in a brothel.571 Due to all these events at the time, it was said he “was carried,
screaming from his studio” during possible intervention.572 There was also evidence of
hallucinations and overall declining health.573 In the late 1890’s, another episode had
occurred, where he fired a pistol while alone in a room, proclaiming to friends Thadée
and Misia Natanson, he was shooting at the “attacking spiders.”574 This was just more
evidence to validate Adèle’s decision for a professional intervention.
Once it was discovered the artist had been committed, a variety of critics began to
write excerpts about Toulouse-Lautrec’s institutionalization.575 First, there were negative
vindictive accusations attacking his art, character, physical looks and sanity.576
Eventually, those who were outraged by the assassination came to his defense in their
own writings.577
568 Frey, 456.
569 Frey, 456.
570 Frey, 456.
571 Frey, 456.
572 Frey, 456.
573 Frey, 456.
574 Frey, 431.
575 Frey, 462-465.
576 Frey, 462-465.
577 Frey 462-465.
137 137
According to asylum doctors, the biggest deficit in Toulouse-Lautrec’s
breakdown was memory loss.578 His memory and its return were going to be used as
measurements of his recovery.579 While committed, the artist did continue to create art in
conjunction with his recovery and official treatment.580 It is important to note that the
artist finished a collection of circus drawings that were created during his stay in the
asylum that were successfully turned into an album.581 These circus drawings were
composed by the artist from memory only, a strategic move to demonstrate his memory
in action to doctors.582Their creation (along with other projects) was an effort to
convince the asylum doctors his memory was sound and he was indeed sane and
competently able to return to his life.583 The artist’s recreation of a circus scene with all
its elements was an impressive feat for his condition and circumstance.584
Of course part of his rehabilitation was to abstain from the indulgences that got
him there in the first place like alcohol and women.585 His three month stay (February –
May of 1899) finally came to an end in the asylum and all were pleased with his recovery
and compliance overall.586 In his departure, he proudly exclaimed, “I bought my freedom
with my drawings.”587
578 Frey, 471.
579 Frey, 471.
580 Frey, 469.
581 Frey, 488.
582 Frey, 471.
583 Frey, 471.
584 Frey, 471.
585 Frey, 466.
586 Frey, 471-473.
587 Frey, 471.
138 138
Symbolically, his commitment in the asylum is a return to his confinement in his
earlier years, possibly triggered by a refusal to address the inevitable. The key truth was
that his physical ailment had everything to do with his mental and emotional breakdown.
It wasn’t just another random note in an eccentric artist’s life, as much as he and others
might have wished it to be living in the 19th century. Because it was his mother Adèle
who made the decision to confine him (by definition a re-confinement), it must have felt
like a regressive return to rejection, exclusion, refusal, alienation, illegitimacy,
abandonment, betrayal, punishment and finally a freak of nature. His physical ailment all
began with his birth, before it was able to hijack every developmental stage, experience
and environment of his life. Its existence was a big deal. But often the artist made peace
with its consequence by playing it down and making lighthearted remarks around its
cause and effect. A necessary reconciliation with his own physical ailment was now a
mandatory step to move forward into the future undisturbed. A final act to stop the
repression and resistance of his dark past was “past due” by the late 1890’s. By this time
he was still managing his physical ailment, in addition to being older, more tired, an
alcoholic, infected with Syphilis, and now committed to the asylum. The artist frequently
used jokes, wit, charm, satire and parody to captivate others and probably to deny the
existence of his undisclosed serious pain and suffering. By now, any lighthearted or
cynical disposition would seem inappropriate, since he was in a very serious and
vulnerable situation. He faced a potential devastating outcome after an already
marginalized and ostracized experience that could cost him his sanity, freedom or life.
His insight that confinement causes the death of all things is prophetic when you consider
his own life story and the events that unfolded.
139 139
Toulouse-Lautrec: His Death circa 1901
Dying’s damned hard!—Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec588
The spring of 1901 Toulouse-Lautrec had a stroke.589 It led to following a similar
set of sanctions practiced at the asylum, no alcohol or women since both seemed toxic to
his health, or more specifically to his behavior.590 Due to the abstinence of his two
volatile lovers, he was telling others, “Bacchus and Venus are barred.”591 During this
time he was still working and selling, and “very pleased” with another collection of
artworks labeled his Massaline series.592 The artist’s painting style (texture and color
palate) evolved into a darker composition, almost melancholic.593 But eventually, it was
reported he became terribly thin, weak, shrunken, and barely eating.594 It was also said
he began to look “prematurely old.”595 His hand started to shake so much it would
prevent him from working.596 These characteristics finally led to the end of his art
practice altogether.597
One of Toulouse-Lautrec’s final paintings, Un Examen à la Faculté de Médecene
(An Examination at the Faculty of Medicine) circa 1901 was created on behalf of his
cousin Gabriel Tapié de Céleyran who was preparing for his medical thesis defense.598
However, it is contested the candidate seen in the artist’s composition even resembles his
588 Frey, 492.
589 Frey, 488.
590 Frey, 488.
591 Frey, 488.
592 Frey, 488-489.
593 Frey, 490.
594 Frey, 489.
595 Frey, 489.
596 Frey, 490.
597 Frey, 490.
598 Frey 490.
140 140
cousin.599 The topic of defense was “on vaginal herniation”600 The other two gentlemen
in the composition are cousin Gabriel’s professors, Wurtz and Fournier.601 It was by
coincidence or destiny that the two professors both had interest in the studies of
alcoholism and Syphilis.602 Cousin Gabriel was also the supposed informant who told
Bonmariage that Toulouse-Lautrec had Syphilis.603 All of these coincidences seeming to
intersect at the personal lifestyle of Toulouse-Lautrec register as peculiar, especially at
the end of his life, another event of serendipity.
Toulouse-Lautrec, as if he could feel his own demise quietly and privately
sneaking up on him, instinctually went to his studio to clean, organize, complete some
artworks and stamp them with his original red monogram.604 It was the final oeuvre of
his workstation.
In June 1901, while preparing to jump on a train and make his exit, he turned to
Renee Vert and told her, “We can kiss for you won’t see me again,” immediately
following with, “When I am dead, I will have a nose like Cyrano!”605 The artist right up
until the very end was still questioning his appearance. He possibly for the first time,
approached Verte for a kiss, but seemed confident it would be his last. His strength
continued to leave his weak and thin body and finally Adèle requested that he come to
her estate at Malromé.606 Unfortunately, one of Toulouse-Lautrec’s friends delayed the
599 Frey 490.
600 Frey, 490.
601 Frey, 490.
602 Frey, 490.
603 Frey, 203.
604 Frey, 490.
605 Frey, 491.
606 Frey, 491.
141 141
arrival.607 In August of 1901, the artist “suffered a second stroke from which he would
not recover.”608 To the relief of Adèle, he finally made it to Malromé, which offered
Toulouse-Lautrec “his request, to die at his mother’s home.”609
He arrived on August 20, 1901, the hottest time of the year.610 He was moved to
an upstairs bedroom in his mother’s estate, while in a “paralyzed and intermittent
comatose” condition.611
Due to the summer and its heat, the environment at Malromé was plagued with
swarming, landing and biting flies which also attacked the artist on his deathbed.612
Toulouse-Lautrec “drifted in and out of sleep” and often “called out to his mother for
reassurance” and even his father once he arrived.613 When the artist saw his lifelong
absentee eccentric hunter of a father appear in the room, he said, “I knew you wouldn’t
miss the kill.”614His mother Adèle, father Alphonse, a priest, a nun along with other
attendees were present.615 In his final hours, the priest gave the last sacraments while
others like his mother and the nun said the rosary.616 Alphonse seemed to fidget at the
event of his own son’s death while he tried to exterminate the disruptive insects in the
darkened room.617 His father’s behavior is what initiated the artist’s last words about
607 Frey, 491.
608 Frey, 492.
609 Frey, 492.
610 Frey, 492.
611 Frey, 492.
612 Frey, 492.
613 Frey, 492.
614 Frey, 492.
615 Frey, 492.
616 Frey, 492.
617 Frey, 492.
142 142
him being an “old fool.”618 Surrounded by others, in his virtuous mother’s home, the
artist began to fade away with a continual labored breathing.619
Finally, on September 9, 1901 at just a quarter past two o’ clock in the morning,
the modern artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec died.620 He was 36 years old. It was
reported to have rained similar to the night he was born, a detail his mother Adèle would
have surely recalled.621
Immediately after the passing, Alphonse wrote a letter to Princeteau, telling the
art mentor of his son’s death.622 He also expressed some thoughts and opinions on the
life of his son.623 One of his most telling statements proclaimed,
“His sufferings are over…Let us hope that there is another life where we shall meet
again, without hindrance to eternal friendship.”624
Finally, as if the roles had reversed, Alphonse knew what it was like to desire and
long for his now absentee son, Henri.
After the artist’s death and funeral, there were disagreements in regard to his final
resting place.625 Alphonse and Adèle still could not get along, but the matriarch prevailed
the prince, and Toulouse-Lautrec the artist was placed to rest “in the churchyard at the
convent of Verdelais (Figure 39).”626 It was a place his pious mother Adèle loved and
618 Frey, 492.
619 Frey, 492.
620 Frey, 492.
621 Frey, 492.
622 Frey, 492.
623 Frey, 492.
624 Frey, 493.
625 Frey, 493.
626 Frey, 493.
143 143
undoubtedly it gave her some rest for the loss of her only begotten son.627 The artist’s
father Alphonse died in 1912. But before he did, he signed all his rights away to his son’s
friend and acting art dealer Maurice Joyant.628 Adèle worked with Maurice Joyant to
preserve her son’s artwork and legacy, including the founding of the museum, Museé
Toulouse-Lautrec in Albi.629 She finally died herself in 1930.
By 1901, Toulouse-Lautrec’s body was overwhelmed with ailments and disease.
He had lived a private life in Montmartre away from the eyes of his family. They
probably had no accurate picture of all that his body had endured after leaving them in
the South of France. Many of the artists of his time had indulged in the bohemian
quarters and lifestyle where debauchery was part of the culture. Extremes were the
common. But the artist’s body entered every situation already compromised due to his
physical ailment. Even though his lifestyle was devised from social and cultural choices
just like everyone else, he wasn’t everyone else. It must be said that his physical ailment
“always got the first word and the last word” as it related to his body and overall health.
It demanded the first accommodation and the last consideration. It is apparent Toulouse-
Lautrec was aware of his own decline and soon to be death. Closing down his art studio,
asking for one last kiss, and mentioning death and dying before it actually happened all
demonstrate that fact. He might of felt “systems were shutting down” inside his body. It
was a body that had been through so much. By 1901, it must have been exhausted.
Surprisingly, it’s almost as if the artist finished his life how it basically began, at his
mother’s home, bedridden, surrounded by an entourage of caretakers, including his
father’s last minute antics, very reminiscent of his childhood experiences in the South of
France. His parents’ behavior at his bedside was true to their opposing relationship,
627 Frey, 493.
628 Frey, 493.
629 Frey, 493.
144 144
Adèle the devoted mother, while Alphonse played the distant estranged dysfunctional
parent. Yet, the artist verbally sought them out from his deathbed, needing to know they
were close. As much as Alphonse was detached and removed emotionally, he attained a
lot of his son’s attention the day he died. The comment about “not missing the kill” had a
deeper meaning. Alphonse was the kind of man who was always on the hunt for
something, “looking for the kill”, but this time, he was to witness his own dying son as
the kill, hunted by death itself. Perhaps, as he laid in his deathbed, the clever words to his
father were final hints to Alphonse. Hints that he was aware his father never wanted him,
didn’t love him that he wasn’t good enough, ultimately rejected, all because of his
physical ailment. Still, maybe Alphonse’s presence, even after his son’s transformation
from noble aristocrat to bohemian outcast, was enough to make his son finally feel loved
by him that day. It is epic to see how the most estranged relation the artist held
throughout his life—that with his father Alphonse—came to be the most engaged in
relation to his actual death.
The artist was given the Catholic sacraments which would have greatly relieved a
worried Adèle. The tormenting flies and Alphonse’s attempt to deal with their constant
attack was analogous, metaphoric and symbolic to the physical ailment’s attack on their
entire lives—not just the artist’s. Finally and once and for all, Adèle managed the finer
details of his life, even after his death, while Alphonse went back to being himself.
In stark contrast to Adèle’s involvement, the overall impression given by
Alphonse was that he rejected his son via his lifelong estrangement as a father. Then, his
apparent rejection continued to reveal itself more when Alphonse sold family estate and
land which the artist was in direct line to inherit after his father’s own death. In addition,
Alphonse’s insinuation (if not outright suggestion) that the artist adopt a pseudo-name to
ultimately “protect and preserve” the sanctity of Toulouse-Lautrec gave further revelation
of a rejection. Alphonse exercised an obvious distance, detachment and un-involvement
145 145
Figure 39 - Tomb of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec at Verdelais, Gironde, France -
Photograph (Credit: Author Henry Salomé/Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC
BY-SA 4.0) No Changes Made) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
sa/4.0/legalcode
in regard to his own son’s life, art success and fame. It is as if Alphonse’s lifelong goal
was to “protect himself and the good name of Toulouse-Lautrec” from the physical
ailment—seen only in its liability—despite the son and artistic genius trapped in its
physical embodiment. Alphonse basically denounced his son and his rightful
membership and title in the Toulouse-Lautrec family and it would be impossible to argue
that the physical ailment wasn’t the key note that determined how such events played out
between father and son until the artist’s death in 1901. Essentially, his own father
marginalized and ostracized him similar to the collective establishment of the 19th
century. Fortunately and understandably, his mother Adèle over-compensated for her
son’s loss of his father’s presence and support.
146 146
Looking inside from the outside, one might conclude the artist’s Dr. Jekyll was
finally conquered by his Mr. Hyde, since he was taken down dark paths of sabotage and
destruction in his later years, which cost him his life. But truly, for the artist to embrace
his full “Self” it required him to finally come to terms with his Mr. Hyde, the part of
himself that others rejected. He was well acquainted with the “ugliness” of his Mr. Hyde,
since it was the unpredictable saboteur that always had the reputation to manifest itself to
destroy his mobility, his freedom, his choices, his chances at intimacy, his chances at
love, his health and his overall happiness and future. Arguably, his development of
destructive alcoholism and Syphilis as well as public displays of self-sabotaging defiant
acts were effects caused by the physical ailment’s negative consequences to his life.
These consequences manifested over a lifetime as the artist lived with a visible short
stature— a permanent physical mark like a scarlet letter—allotting the world the liberty
to discount him as a freak of nature. This must have been a taxing burden to his self-
identity not just physically, but psychologically, considering mental and emotional states.
Prior to Montmartre, the artist, his mother and other family members tried their best to
hide, deny or minimize the physical ailment’s impact on his life. It was an attempt to
reject the true existence of his Mr. Hyde, but unfortunately it came with a cost to the full
“Self” since Mr. Hyde’s existence was just as legitimate as Dr. Jekyll’s. Meaning, to
reject one, was a rejection of his full self. Since, unlike his father, the artist couldn’t just
conveniently distance, detach or be un-involved with his physical ailment. It was a
physical embodiment of the “Self,” it lived in his genetics, the very DNA of his physical
manifestation. Mr. Hyde was inbred into his existence from the moment of conception
and his presence was inevitable, constant and permanent in the life of the artist. To come
to terms with his Mr. Hyde meant the artist needed to embrace the physical ailment in all
its “ugliness.” This truth is what explains the artist’s public display of nudity. In his nude
exposure he fulfilled the purest act of self-disclosure, by revealing the very body that
147 147
embodied his physical ailment, on full public display, no more hiding, denying or
minimizing its true physical state and stature.
In doing so, he came to terms once and for all with his Mr. Hyde, the very side of
himself that tormented him since early childhood. In his surrender to the flesh and bone
that embodied the physical ailment, he subsequently made peace with his Mr. Hyde, by
sharing the most intimate, concealed and vulnerable part of himself with the entire world.
It was the same world that had consistently marginalized and ostracized him throughout
his life. At one time, his physical ailment was a part of himself that he, his mother Adèle
and the rest of the family worked so hard to eliminate from existence. But that time had
ended. It was now time for Toulouse-Lautrec, the bohemian artist, the noble man, the
only son and the ailed survivor to come to terms with the truth of a genetic disease caused
by family inbreeding.
I believe in his later years, he came to terms with that truth. For his public display
of nudity was the greatest example of self-acceptance and self-love the artist ever
expressed, and like with his art, his physical ailment is the key to understanding such
motive and drive. His journey, including any darkness, was necessary for him to embrace
the truth of his physical ailment, but more importantly, the truth of its origination—his
family. As he escaped to Montmartre, he carried that genetic truth with him and the call
of his death returned him back to the physical ailment’s origin—his family. But his
escape was not in vain, for he gifted the world with the modern avant-garde artworks he
created while living in Montmartre and they are responsible for his art legacy today.
Consequently, his alcoholism and Syphilis (though both common in the 19th
century), were unfortunate “passengers he picked up” along the way, but should not be
used to discount the honor, victory or legacy of the artist, since the driver, his physical
ailment, ultimately determined the directions his life took, and not just with his art, but
with his personal life as well. While true to Toulouse-Lautrec form, it is believed his
148 148
public display of defecation was just a final au revoir déclassé act of abandonment and
betrayal toward a 19th-century world and all its establishments.
I believe many of Toulouse-Lautrec’s acts such as using humor and self-
deprecation as a protective shield, using his art to parallel with the social outcast, using
alcohol to anesthetize pain, and using prostitutes for surrogates of true love and affection
were unconscious drives. However, like any human being, the actions Toulouse-Lautrec
took to find acceptance, inclusion, success, legitimacy, refuge, respect, love and fame
were conscious motives.
His Dr. Jekyll made peace with his Mr. Hyde before his death, now he and the
physical ailment can rest in peace, finally.
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