1886 (ca.), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, At the Bar -- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond)
From the museum label: After moving to Paris in 1882, Toulouse-Lautrec trained as an academic painter for five years before setting up a studio in the bohemian district of Montmartre. He was inspired by the eclectic mix of artists, writers, workers, and performers who gathered in the district's cafés, cabarets, and nightclubs. Toulouse-Lautrec frequented these establishments and became known for his scenes of bohemian Parisian life, often featuring his friends as subjects. The small-statured figure to the left is probably the artist himself, while the figures to his right are possibly the Cabaret dancer Valentin le Désossé (literally, "the boneless one") and Toulouse-Lautrec's cousin Gabriel Tapié de Celetran. The hazy, silhouette-like, and somber forms, darkly outlined and enlivened with splashes of strident color, convey the grimy atmosphere of Montmartre's bars and the dissolute behaviors of their familiar inhabitants. Members of different classes intermingled in this segment of Parisian society where all could mutually indulge in drink and entertainment.
1886 (ca.), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, At the Bar -- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond)
From the museum label: After moving to Paris in 1882, Toulouse-Lautrec trained as an academic painter for five years before setting up a studio in the bohemian district of Montmartre. He was inspired by the eclectic mix of artists, writers, workers, and performers who gathered in the district's cafés, cabarets, and nightclubs. Toulouse-Lautrec frequented these establishments and became known for his scenes of bohemian Parisian life, often featuring his friends as subjects. The small-statured figure to the left is probably the artist himself, while the figures to his right are possibly the Cabaret dancer Valentin le Désossé (literally, "the boneless one") and Toulouse-Lautrec's cousin Gabriel Tapié de Celetran. The hazy, silhouette-like, and somber forms, darkly outlined and enlivened with splashes of strident color, convey the grimy atmosphere of Montmartre's bars and the dissolute behaviors of their familiar inhabitants. Members of different classes intermingled in this segment of Parisian society where all could mutually indulge in drink and entertainment.