Stepping into the bohemian world of Paris, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec captured the energy of the Moulin Rouge and its legendary performers.
Toulouse-Lautrec in 1894
His mother had great ambition for him to become a fashionable and respected artist. His parents used their influence to gain him entrance to portrait artist Léon Bonnat’s studio in Montmartre to study art.
Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec Monfa did become a tremendous artist having produced over 1,000 paintings, 5,000 drawings, and 400 posters in his 36-year lifetime.
Contrary to his mother’s aspirations, Toulouse-Lautrec immersed himself in the bohemian community of Montmartre. Because of his congenital condition that made him a very short adult with undersized legs, he felt more comfortable with the artists, entertainers, and prostitutes than with those in his aristocratic milieu.
Toulouse-Lautrec’s most recognizable and highly regarded artworks brought his new home and its characters to life. In one of his greatest works At the Moulin Rouge that is on loan to Mia until March 9, 2025, he draws today’s museum visitors into the place to be in Paris at the end of the 19th century.
The Moulin Rouge opened in 1889. Toulouse-Lautrec was commissioned to make posters publicizing this new Montmartre cabaret. His posters not only brought patrons to the club, but also made the dancers depicted celebrities of the moment and immortalized personalities.
Two performers in Toulouse-Lautrec’s At the Moulin Rouge and featured in his posters achieved particular fame and success: Jane Avril and Louise Weber, la Goulue or the Glutton.
Jane Avril, born Jeanne Louise Beaudon, was the daughter of an Italian aristocrat father and a French prostitute mother, known as ‘La Belle Élise.” Her father left and her mother abused her and intended to make her a prostitute. Beaudon left home at age 15 and, after several jobs, was hired in 1889 by the Moulin Rouge. An English lover had suggested a stage name for her: Jane Avril.
Jane Avril, 1893 • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Lithograph Poster
Her dance style was described as “an orchid in frenzy.” The Belgian author Frantz Jourdain described Avril as “this exquisite creature, nervous and neurotic, the captivating flower of artistic corruption and of sickly grace.” In a time when these qualities were considered elegant, she was appealing to the public. It was later questioned whether Avril exaggerated her nervous style to attract more attention.
In contrast to the graceful, soft-spoken, and sometimes melancholic Avril, Louise Weber was known not only as “the Queen of the Cancan,” but also for her boisterous charm. As a young girl, she liked to dress up in the fancy gowns of her mother’s laundromat customers.
Moulin Rouge: La Goulue, 1891 • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Lithograph Poster
In her teens, Weber and her family relocated to Paris, where she began her dancing career at places such as the Moulin de la Galette. As a talented dancer capable of especially high kicks, she was hired at the Moulin Rouge in 1889. She became a notable for her skill and charisma.
Weber earned the nickname “la Goulue” because, as she danced by customers’ tables, she would often empty their glasses. Once between two cartwheels, she purportedly spotted the Prince of Wales in the cabaret and called out “Hey, Wales! The Champagne’s on you?” Only la Goulue could have gotten away with that.
And thanks to Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, those coming to admire his masterful artwork At the Moulin Rouge can experience the magic of Montmartre at its best.
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