This is a free virtual exhibition of 15 works by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec that you can walk through in your browser, on desktop or phone, with nothing to install. Among the works on view are At the Moulin Rouge and his bold portrait poster of the cabaret singer Aristide Bruant.
About Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901) was a French painter, printmaker and illustrator whose art captured the nightlife of Montmartre in the 1880s and 1890s. Born in Albi into an aristocratic family, he broke both legs as a teenager, and his legs stopped growing, which is often linked to an inherited condition. He trained in Paris studios before settling in Montmartre, where he painted dancers, singers, circus performers and the audiences who watched them. Toulouse-Lautrec transformed the color lithograph poster into an art form, beginning with his celebrated Moulin Rouge: La Goulue of 1891. Influenced by Japanese woodblock prints and by Degas, he favored flat areas of color, cropped compositions and daring outlines. Although he died at just 36, he left behind hundreds of paintings and prints that shaped modern graphic design and advertising.
Highlights in this room
At the Moulin Rouge
One of his most ambitious paintings, this scene gathers a group of friends around a table in the famous dance hall, while a woman's face, lit in an eerie green, looms at the right edge. Toulouse-Lautrec included himself as a small figure in the background. The sharp diagonal of the railing and the abrupt cropping create the feeling of a single glance across a crowded room.
Equestrienne (At the Cirque Fernando)
A rider circles the ring as the ringmaster raises his whip, and the curve of the arena sweeps across the canvas. The empty foreground and the figures cut off at the edges show his debt to Japanese prints and to Degas. It is an early statement of the circus themes he would return to throughout his life.
Aristide Bruant, in His Cabaret
Bruant, the cabaret singer famous for insulting his audience, is reduced to a few unforgettable elements: a broad black hat, a dark cape and a bright red scarf. Toulouse-Lautrec used flat color and strong silhouette so the image could be read at a glance on a Paris street. It remains one of the defining images of the Belle Époque poster.
Jane Avril
Jane Avril, the elegant and reserved dancer of the Moulin Rouge, was one of Toulouse-Lautrec's closest friends and favorite subjects. He portrayed her again and again, catching her angular, energetic style of dance. His images of her helped fix the look of the Montmartre stage in the public imagination.
How to enjoy the exhibition
- Walk up to a poster to see it closer. Lithography let him combine flat color with loose, spattered textures, a technique called crachis, that is easy to miss from a distance.
- Read the posters as design. Notice how few colors he uses, how lettering is woven into the image, and how silhouettes do the work of detail.
- Click a work to read its label. It helps you tell apart the paintings, posters and prints such as the Elles series and La revue blanche.
- Look at the cropping. Figures cut off by the edge, and views from above or below, show what he learned from Japanese prints and from photography.
- Follow the performers. Jane Avril, Yvette Guilbert, May Belfort and May Milton appear across the room, and it is rewarding to compare how he characterized each one.
New to the format? Here is a short guide to what a virtual gallery is. To see the artists who shaped him, continue to the Degas virtual exhibition and the Utamaro virtual exhibition.
Create a room like this for your own work
This room was built with Xibit360, and the same tools are open to working artists. You can light and frame each piece, set the mood with themes and layouts, exhibit video works alongside still images, and embed the finished room on your own website so visitors can walk through it without leaving your page. It is free to start, and upgrades are one-time purchases with no subscription.
Know an artist who should see this?
If you know an illustrator, poster designer or painter whose work deserves a room like this, send them this page. They can walk through the Toulouse-Lautrec room above to see what is possible, then picture their own work in a space of its own.
FAQ
Is the Toulouse-Lautrec virtual exhibition free?
Yes. You can open it in your browser for free.
Can I view it on my phone?
Yes. The same walkable space opens on desktop and on phone, with no app to install.
Why are Toulouse-Lautrec's posters so important?
He treated the commercial poster as serious art, using color lithography, bold silhouettes and flat color inspired by Japanese prints. His posters for cabarets and performers helped create the language of modern advertising and graphic design.