Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec

Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter and printmaker who is known for his depictions of the social scene in late 19th-century Paris.

He was born into a noble family, but his parents died young, leaving him to be raised by his grandparents. He had an interest in art from a young age and began studying it at age 14 under the tutelage of Pierre Puvis de Chavannes. He later attended the École des Beaux-Arts and became interested in the works of Edgar Degas, who inspired his own work.

De Toulouse-Lautrec's early paintings were influenced by Impressionism, but he later moved on to create works that were more personal and less connected to current trends in art. His paintings depicted the people involved in bohemian life—including prostitutes, nightclub performers, cabaret singers and dancers—and he often used them as models for his works. His work has been exhibited in galleries all over Europe, including New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art and Centre Pompidou in Paris.