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16. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French, 1864-1901. Monsieur Boileau at the Café, 1893. Gouache on cardboard, 80 x 64.8 cm. Hinman B. Hurlbut Collection, 1939.425
(No longer on view due to its fragile condition.)
This painting on heavy cardboard depicts a rotund man sitting in a Paris café. A journalist who shocked Paris with his scandalous articles, Boileau leans casually back in his chair, a cigarette in his hand. His direct stare and the tilted angle of the table invites the viewer into the café, as if the spectator is Boileau's companion for the evening. Boileau's simple dress contrasts with the top hats and expensive suits of the other men in the café.
The cardboard shows through between strokes of green and yellow paint, innovatively integrated into the image. The painting is typical of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's subject matter: the gritty nightlife of late 19th-century Paris, the bistros, the late-night bars where performers and artists met, and the cabarets and circuses where Toulouse-Lautrec spent most of his time.
Toulouse-Lautrec was born in 1864 into an aristocratic family in Albi, France. (The bearded figure tooting a hunting horn in the background of Monsieur Boileau is his father, the Comte Alponse de Toulouse-Lautrec.) At the age of 13, Toulouse-Lautrec's legs ceased to grow due to a rare bone disease called pyknodystosis. Despite the physical and emotional problems associated with his disfigurement, Toulouse-Lautrec's remarkable achievement indicates his disabilities never hindered his art.
His formal training began in 1882 when he studied under Léon Bonnat (1833-1922) and Fernand Cormon (1845-1924), both award-winning academic artists. Soon, however, he began to follow another path and embraced more modern ideas of subject matter and style. Like the impressionists, Toulouse-Lautrec was interested in painting modern life, in particular the Paris leisure district called Montmartre. Montmartre was not merely a haunt to Toulouse-Lautrec, but also his home and studio. His paintings and innovative posters made public figures of many Montmartre cabaret actors and dancers.
Toulouse-Lautrec was well known for his eccentric and witty personality, which made him welcome in the nightlife of Paris. In the short 37 years of his life, he produced thousands of paintings, graphic works, and sculptures. Unfortunately, alcoholism and the effects of his disabilities ended his prolific career in 1901.
Vivian Kung and Patricia Richmond
Teacher Resource Center
Department of Education and Public Programs
© 1997 The Cleveland Museum of Art |