Au Moulin Rouge is a key work in the oeuvre of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. It is one of his largest and most orthodox – finished, in a traditional sense – works. The subject, people drinking, talking and dancing in the Moulin Rouge dance hall is a recurring motif in Lautrec's work, and pivotal, as it was precisely this subject that propelled him into the ranks of the all-time greats. Moreover, the people depicted in this scene were the ones his world revolved around: the dancers La Goulue (‘the Glutton’) and Jane Avril; his friends, seated round the table, of which the photographer Paul Sescau was the most important one; and in the background we can see Lautrec's cousin Dr. Tapie de Celeyran, together with the unmistakable figure of the painter himself.
Toulouse-Lautrec was one of the foremost representatives of the post-impressionist movement, with Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and Seurat. These painters found inspiration in Impressionism, but also outside of western art; in Van Gogh's and Lautrec's case mainly in Japanese prints. From the Japanese they learned how to use an oblique, skewed perspective.
The Impressionist Edgar Degas had also been inspired by Japanese prints. This is interesting, since Lautrec was a great admirer of Degas. Au Moulin Rouge has a very similar feeling to Degas' painting the Absinthe Drinker – one of the defining paintings of Impressionism. When compared these two paintings clearly exemplify the differences between Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Evident is Lautrec's much more dramatic use of Japanese influences with regard to perspective: the picture is cut with strong diagonal lines, directed at not one, but two vanishing points.
Au Moulin Rouge also belongs to a genre of groups of bohémien characters huddled around tables, a popular motif in 19th century French painting. Lautrec felt drawn to this peculiar, nocturnal world, with its uninhibited denizens. And although he blended in perfectly, the bohémien lifestyle took its toll: Toulouse-Lautrec died of alcoholism at the age of thirty-six. Yet his short life was free and fascinating, and with this painting Lautrec has immortalized his age, the fin de siècle.
(text: Edgar Foley)
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