Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is different from most artists touched on in this blog. Instead of barely surviving, he flourished producing his art. Toulouse-Lautrec was a son of a rich family, and was born in Albi in 18641. He had two unfortunate accidents in his youth, stunting his legs’ growth and rendering him a dwarf. He spent his crippled adolescence dabbling in art. In his adulthood he lived around the more seedy areas in Paris, including the Moulin Rouge and the red light district2. He was quite popular with the performers and ladies of the night, and was always surrounded by friends and work up until his death.
This poster was commissioned by Jane Avril, one of Lautrec’s favourite subjects. In fact, he depicted her in over 30 works throughout his life3. Slim girls were in fashion at the time, and she had “the nature of a long-legged thoroughbred”4,the perfect subject for his lively posters. Jane in fact credits Lautrec for making her the talk of Paris: “Without a doubt I owed him the fame I enjoyed from that very first moment his poster of me appeared”2.
Troupe de Mlle Eglantine
This piece demonstrates the animation principle of arcs. Limbs and other extremities move on an arc during motion. This gives the animation a more natural flow. Without these arcs, movement becomes stiff and flat5. These dancing ladies are also moving on arcs. The front dancers have their legs at the very top of the arc, while Jane Avril (the back dancer) has her leg nearly at the top of her arc. The viewer can anticipate the ladies’ kick that will happen next. Their bodies are arced back, ready to execute their move. The viewer is placed right in the middle of the action with the signals that Toulouse-Lautrec has given.
1. Cooper, Douglas. “Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec”, “Art Treasures of the World”. (1-2).
2. Thomson, Richard. “Toulouse-Lautrec”, “Oresko Books LTD”. (22).
3. Whitfield, Craig. “Jane Avril: A Biography”. Jane Avril of the Moulin Rouge. http://www.janeavril.net/biography.html.
4. Murray, Gale. “Toulouse-Lautrec: a Retrospective”, “Macmillan Publishing Company, New York”. (347).
5. Lightfoot, Nataha. “12 Principles”. Animation Toolworks.
Image via: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henri_de_Toulouse_Lautrec.Troupe_de_Mlle_Eglantine.JPG
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Posted on November 11, 2011
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