ABSTRACT
THE MARGINALIZED AND OSTRACIZED HENRI DE TOULOUSE- LAUTREC: HOW A GENETIC PHYSICAL AILMENT WAS KEY TO A NOBLE MAN’S DÉCLASSÉ DROP IN SOCIAL CLASS AS HE PARALLELED HIMSELF WITH THE OUTCAST IN BOHEMIAN MONTMARTRE
The purpose of this thesis is to determine how the genetic disease pycnodysostosis determined the artwork and subject matter of the modern artist Henri de Toulouse-
Lautrec as he paralleled himself with the social outcast living in bohemian Montmartre Paris during the 19th century. The class structure of European society naturally marginalized Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec for his physical ailment. Despite his noble privilege, he was ostracized for his physical height, ridiculed for his short stature as it was viewed as a freak of nature. Because of his physical differences, his peers denied him the opportunity to be a legitimate member of the aristocracy and respectable citizen of bourgeois society. This led to a general experience of alienation in such environments among his own class throughout his lifetime. Eventually, this caused him to find refuge in bohemian society, where his experience of exclusion paralleled that of other social outcasts, which validated his own rejection in terms of his class and its values. This movement away from his own class transformed the focus of his art. The respectable subject matter that was once expected of him by the aristocracy was unexpectedly replaced with the bohemian as subject, an act seen as a disrespect to the establishment, including his own family. The “noble lady” was replaced with the art model, female entertainer, the prostitute and the lesbian, while the “noble gentleman” was replaced with the male anarchist, entertainer and homosexual.
Jonathan Wayne Stanley May 2020
THE MARGINALIZED AND OSTRACIZED HENRI DE TOULOUSE- LAUTREC: HOW A GENETIC PHYSICAL AILMENT WAS KEY TO
A NOBLE MAN’S DÉCLASSÉ DROP IN SOCIAL CLASS AS HE
PARALLELED HIMSELF WITH THE OUTCAST IN
BOHEMIAN MONTMARTRE
by Jonathan Wayne Stanley
A thesis
submitted in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts in Art
in the College of Arts and Humanities California State University, Fresno
May 2020 APPROVED
For the Department of Art and Design:
We, the undersigned, certify that the thesis of the following student meets the required standards of scholarship, format, and style of the university and the student's graduate degree program for the awarding of the master's degree.
Jonathan Wayne Stanley Thesis Author
Keith Jordan (Chair) Art and Design
Laura Meyer Art and Design
Criss Wilhite Psychology
For the University Graduate Committee:
Dean, Division of Graduate Studies AUTHORIZATION FOR REPRODUCTION
OF MASTER’S THESIS
X I grant permission for the reproduction of this thesis in part or in its entirety without further authorization from me, on the condition that the person or agency requesting reproduction absorbs the cost and provides proper acknowledgment of authorship.
Permission to reproduce this thesis in part or in its entirety must be obtained from me.
Signature of thesis author: Jonathan Wayne Stanley ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Personal Dedication Even though Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is found in the Post-Impressionist and Art
Nouveau modern art movements of 19th-century Paris, I envisioned his very life incarnating in this thesis as if the manifestation of a classical Renaissance Pietà. Reminiscent of Michelangelo’s Divine Mother with Child, I envisioned his long- suffering pious mother Adèle as the natural solid rock, The Virtuous Virgin, carved out of the marble stone she is sitting on while both her flesh and foundation supports her son
Henri—until the very end—holding him in her arms literally, even metaphorically until his death.
I envisioned Henri as that noble child, the Viscount, her Only Begotten Son—for he was—and despite the world’s frequent denial of his true majesty, he prevailed and left behind an artistic legacy that is one of a kind, but it did not come without the sacrifice of his own life.
My role in the vision is to present and deliver this thesis as a gift to them both—to acknowledge their sacred mother and son relationship—but most of all, to give honor to
Henri—a truly victorious noble man and avant-garde artist of the 19th century. May his art legacy live on forever as I dedicate this thesis project to him.
Personal Acknowledgements -I would like to acknowledge and thank my Toulouse-Lautrec Committee: Keith Jordan,
Ph.D., Laura Meyer, Ph.D. and Professor Criss Wilhite for their service, academic role and support during this thesis. v v
-I would like to acknowledge and thank the author and scholar Julia Frey for her award winning biography Toulouse-Lautrec: A Life (1994). It has brought forth the most detailed and intimate of facts pertaining to the life of the artist. I used it as my comprehensive H.T-L baseline for identification, verification and foundation. -I would like to acknowledge and thank my lawyer, Shirin, (including James and various legal colleagues) for their advisement in protecting the best interest of my professional future. -I would like to acknowledge and thank my therapist Gidai, who never wavered in the belief that I have something valuable to offer the world.
-I would like to acknowledge and thank my older brother Philip, my older sister Cindy and my brother-in-law Mike who offered their love and support as both family and friend during this thesis.
-I would like to acknowledge and thank my fellow art colleague Anabella, whose artwork in combination with her fiery Picasso-like spirit only gave me more enthusiasm to seek out untapped parallels in uncovering veiled truth as an artist and writer.
-I would like to acknowledge and thank my fellow art colleague Timothy who was always available to me and never forgot I was a Fresno State graduate student, thesis candidate and human being during this entire project.
-I would like to acknowledge and thank Caitlyn for her early support as a friend and professional colleague in my thesis endeavors on Toulouse-Lautrec.
-I would like to acknowledge and thank my fellow art colleague Denise, who during her own life duties, still managed to be present and mindful of our friendship during this thesis.
-I would like to acknowledge and thank the Associate Vice-Presidents of Faculty Affairs at Fresno State University for their administrative support and attention to this thesis. vi vi
-I would like to acknowledge and thank—past and present—all who have paid a price for their own marginalized or ostracized experience: let’s hope the future sustains the enlightenment required to always “see a Toulouse-Lautrec” in our midst.
-I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge myself, for I embraced my own beliefs, values, principles and life experience for the sake of birthing this thesis project.
-Finally, I would like to acknowledge and thank “Veritas” itself, for Truth was the intention of the University and its establishment from the beginning; therefore, let Truth be found in the commitment, presentation and recording of this thesis. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page
LIST OF FIGURES ...... ix
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION WITH QUESTIONS POSED ...... 1
CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND & EARLY BEGINNINGS ...... 5
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: An Artist is Born ...... 5
Alphonse de Toulouse-Lautrec: The Artist’s Father ...... 7
Adèle de Toulouse-Lautrec: The Artist’s Mother ...... 16
The Toulouse-Lautrecs: Royal Inbreeding, Noble Aristocracy & Family Estate ...... 21
The Move to Paris: Hôtel Peréy, Baccalauréat Exams & Formal Pursuit of Art ...... 29
The Parisian Atelier: The Art Masters Princeteau, Bonnat & Cormon ...... 32
Bohemian Montmartre Paris: Toulouse-Lautrec’s New Home ...... 42
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Physical Ailment: Discovery, Symptoms, Progression and Prognosis ...... 47
Toulouse-Lautrec: An Eccentric Personality Full of Theatrics...... 59
CHAPTER 3: ART CRITIQUE & ARGUMENTS ...... 73
Toulouse-Lautrec: Movement and Transformations with Everything Anew ...... 73
Toulouse-Lautrec: Validating His Own Outcast Experience through his Art ...... 74
The Demimonde Model, Entertainer, Prostitute and Lesbian Woman as Fellow Outcast...... 75
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Relation with La Goulue: Queen of Montmartre ...... 75
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Relation with Jane Avril: La Mélénite ...... 79
The Male Anarchist, Entertainer and Homosexual as Fellow Outcast ...... 85
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Relation with Aristide Bruant: La Trumpet ...... 85 Toulouse-Lautrec’s Relation with Oscar Wilde: A Fellow Aristocrat’s fall from Grace ...... 92
CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION ...... 98 viii viii
Page
Aristocracy vs. Bohemianism: How a Déclassé Drop in Social Class Made Sense for Toulouse-Lautrec ...... 98
Bohemian Society: What it really represented for Toulouse-Lautrec ...... 99
Toulouse-Lautrec: An Artist Paralleling Himself with the Social Outcast ...... 100
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARIES & CONCLUSION ...... 102
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Physical Ailment’s Psychological and Behavioral Impact ...... 102
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Psychological and Behavioral Impact of his Physical Ailment on Himself ...... 102
Toulouse-Lautrec: His Father Alphonse...... 106
Toulouse-Lautrec: His Mother Adèle ...... 113
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Demimonde Women ...... 116
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Male Anarchists ...... 121 Toulouse-Lautrec: The Vengeful Acts of Defiance as it Relates to his Physical Ailment ...... 122
Toulouse-Lautrec: His Alcoholism ...... 124
Toulouse-Lautrec: His Contraction of Syphilis ...... 126
Toulouse-Lautrec: Public Display of Nudity circa 1896 ...... 130
Toulouse-Lautrec: Public Display of Defecation circa 1898 ...... 133
Toulouse-Lautrec: Insane Asylum circa 1899 ...... 135
Toulouse-Lautrec: His Death circa 1901 ...... 139
LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Figure 1 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec circa 1880/1890 ...... 2
Figure 2 - Henri at 3 in 1867 ...... 6
Figure 3 - Alphonse circa 1860...... 8
Figure 4 - The Falconer, Comte Alphonse circa 1881 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ...... 13
Figure 5 - Moulin Rouge, La Goulue circa 1891 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ...... 15
Figure 6 - Adèle circa 1860...... 17
Figure 7 - Old Plate Illustrating the Penance of the Count of Toulouse in 1209 ...... 23
Figure 8 - The Hôtel du Bosc Tower where Alphonse Lived in 1894 ...... 28 Figure 9 - Henri in between René Princeteau (Left) and Sculptor Félix Plessis (Right) circa 1890 ...... 33
Figure 10 - René Princeteau in his Studio circa 1881-1882 ...... 35 Figure 11 - In Cormon's Atelier: Cormon himself at the Easel in Front; Henri to the Front Left of Cormon in Hat circa 1885 ...... 38 Figure 12 - Paris Montmartre, Boulevard de Clichy and the Moulin-Rouge circa 1900 ...... 43
Figure 13 - Paris Montmartre Le Moulin de la Galette circa 1885 ...... 46
Figure 14 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec circa 1892 ...... 48 Figure 15 - Typical finding of Short to Non-Existent Distal Phalanges in pycnodysostosis shown in both Flesh (Photo) and X-ray. A pycnodysostosis Hand (Center X-ray) is compared to a Hand with Normal Distal Phalanges (Far Right X-ray)...... 54 Figure 16 - A Human Skull at Birth showing both front and back “Open Fontanels” (Fontanelles) with corresponding Cranial Sutures circa drawing before 1858 ...... 56 Figure 17 - An Entertaining Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec dressed in Japanese Costume Regalia circa 1887 ...... 67 Figure 18 –A Theatrical Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec dressed in Woman's Attire as Costume Regalia circa 1892 ...... 68 Figure 19 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec dressed in ‘Circus-Inspired’ Harlequin Costume Regalia circa Date Unknown ...... 69
Figure 20 - La Goulue (Louise Weber) circa 1885 ...... 77 x x
Page
Figure 21 - La Goulue at the Moulin Rouge circa 1892 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ... 79
Figure 22 - Jane Avril circa 1899 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ...... 82
Figure 23 - Jane Avril circa 1890 - Photograph by Paul Sescau ...... 83
Figure 24 - Aristide Bruant circa 1886 ...... 88
Figure 25 - Le Mirliton, weekly Edited by Aristide Bruant, n 102, March 24, 1893 ...... 89 Figure 26 – Aristide Bruant dans son Cabaret circa 1893 by Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec ...... 91
Figure 27 - Oscar Wilde circa 1882 ...... 93 Figure 28 - A Picture of the Cover of the July, 1890 Edition of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, where "The Picture of Dorian Gray" was first published (also simultaneously published in London) ...... 95
Figure 29 - Oscar Wilde circa 1895 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ...... 97
Figure 30 - Mr. Toulouse paints Mr. Lautrec circa 1891 ...... 105 Figure 31 - Self-Invented Remarque Stamp Signature of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) ...... 107 Figure 32 - The Artist's Father Alphonse dressed in Exotic Scottish Kilt as Falcon Hunting Highlander circa late 19th century ...... 111
Figure 33 - Jane Avril Jardin de Paris by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec circa 1893 ...... 112
Figure 34 - Lost (Self-Portrait) circa 1882 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec...... 114
Figure 35 - Alone (Elles) circa 1896 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ...... 117
Figure 36 - Olympia circa 1865 by Édouard Manet...... 119 Figure 37 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Swimming Completely Nude in the Bassin d'Arcachon circa 1896 ...... 131 Figure 38 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Defecating on the Beach at Le Crotoy, Picardie circa 1898 ...... 134
Figure 39 - Tomb of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec at Verdelais, Gironde, France ...... 145
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION WITH QUESTIONS POSED
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Still Marginalized & Ostracized for his Physical Ailment?
If someone discounts the art of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (Figure 1) because they are disturbed by genetic inbreeding, doesn’t his physical ailment have the power to still marginalize today? If they avoid his art because they feel he was illegitimate due to his short stature, doesn’t his physical ailment have the power to still ostracize today?
There have been instances where Toulouse-Lautrec seems to be left out of the conversation or consideration of the modern art movement. Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir and Picasso are household names when it comes to art, but mention Toulouse-Lautrec and even most art enthusiasts struggle to place him within the appropriate art movement.
Art historians perhaps skip over Toulouse-Lautrec simply because they don’t want to face the deeper analysis his physical ailment requires with the mention of his name. To focus on his art, its subject matter and his life, begs for a deeper meaning as it relates to his obvious condition, a physical condition that is visibly undeniable. Understandably, individuals, including professional scholars, might have doubts about proclaiming the mastery of an artist who was inflicted with a genetic physical ailment. Yet this possible position still demonstrates the physical ailment’s power to set the tone of Toulouse-Lautrec’s life, even after death. A present day introduction and discussion of the modern art movement of the 19th century without the mention of
Toulouse-Lautrec is a disservice to the artist’s original contribution to the era. Further, if his contribution is specifically ignored in order to avoid the supposed reservation his physical ailment triggers in others, by definition, it’s a continued act of marginalization toward the artist in present time. During the 19th century, individuals similarly underestimated and therefore rejected Toulouse-Lautrec due to this exact same social and cultural reaction his physical ailment triggered in them.
2 2
Figure 1 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec circa 1880/1890 – Photograph (Author: Paul Sescau) (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
Frequently, when introducing Toulouse-Lautrec’s life, many early published art history texts mention his physical ailment as a curious oddity, just another unusual characteristic among the endless eccentricities of the modern artists. Usually his physical ailment is mentioned superficially in discussing the beginning of his life or his death. But rarely, if at all, is his physical ailment emphasized as the driving force behind his art, his choices, and his relationships across his life and even his death. A longstanding overdue 3 3 point that needs to be made is that Toulouse-Lautrec’s physical ailment was not just a passenger along for a ride, but was indeed the driver determining the directions of his life, including his art.
All the avant-garde 19th century modern artists working at the time, including Toulouse-Lautrec, faced the same challenges: birthing new art, thought, mediums and practice in opposition to established social order. But Toulouse-Lautrec, in addition to these new challenges, also had to manage a lifelong physical ailment which was unique to himself and his experience, exponentially compounding any challenges to succeed as both an artist and human being.
Even though there were other artists throughout history who faced physical health challenges in regard to vision, hearing, mobility, pain and eventual geriatric ailments,
Toulouse-Lautrec’s case was one of a kind. His condition—supposed pycnodysostosis— was genetic, seen as incurable and only just manageable. It was a permanent, constant condition from birth to death rather than episodic. One of the results of his physical ailment was a noticeably short stature which functioned as a scarlet letter if you will, marking him as different to all acquaintances intimate or otherwise in 19th-century
European society. Toulouse-Lautrec had no choice in the matter, since his short stature
“spoke for him” before he could even say a word. It visually communicated to the world by default, making its first impression, before Toulouse-Lautrec the aristocrat, the artist and the man had a chance to share his true genius.
The class structure of 19th century European society naturally marginalized Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec for his physical ailment. Despite his noble privilege, he was ostracized for his physical height, ridiculed for his short stature as it was viewed as a freak of nature. Because of his physical differences, his peers denied him the opportunity to be a legitimate member of the aristocracy and respectable citizen of bourgeois society.
This led to a general experience of alienation in such environments among his own class 4 4 throughout his lifetime. Eventually, this caused him to find refuge in bohemian society, where his experience of exclusion paralleled that of other social outcasts which validated his own rejection in terms of his class and its values. This movement away from his own class transformed the focus of his art. The respectable subject matter that was once expected of him by the aristocracy was unexpectedly replaced with the bohemian as subject, an act seen as a disrespect to the establishment, including his own family. The
“noble lady” was replaced with the female entertainer, the prostitute and the lesbian; the “noble gentleman” was replaced with the male anarchist, entertainer and homosexual; while the natural outdoor landscape was replaced with the exotic indoor landscape of bars, brothels and nightclubs.
In Parisian bohemian society, what was once marginalized became accepted and what was once ostracized became included. The opportunity to belong as a member of a society was now possible through his movement from the aristocracy to bohemia. His legitimate membership in bohemian society negated his illegitimacy among the establishment. Bohemia offered acceptance and inclusion of the outcast, such as himself, that was otherwise refused elsewhere in 19th-century France. For Toulouse-Lautrec, his greatest vengeful act of defiance was to abandon and betray the very establishment that marginalized and ostracized him by becoming a bohemian outside the class structure altogether—punishment for his own class’s abandonment and betrayal of him Therefore, it is argued by Jonathan Wayne Stanley that his physical ailment was not just another random note in an eccentric artist’s life, but instead, was the single key note that determined his artwork and its subject matter as he paralleled himself with the social outcast in bohemian Montmartre.
But, before any argument or discussion can be presented about his art as it relates to the physical ailment, an introduction to the artist’s early beginnings and background must be considered—when he was just Henri.
CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND & EARLY BEGINNINGS
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: An Artist is Born Julia Bloch Frey in Toulouse-Lautrec: A Life (1994) tells us Henri Marie
Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Montfa (1864-1901) is the official name of one of the most original modern avant-garde artists involved in the post-impressionist art movement of 19th century Paris.1 Henri was born on November 24, 1864 in Albi, France at the
Hôtel du Bosc, 14 rue de l’École-Mage to his parents Comte Alphonse-Charles-Marie de
Toulouse-Lautrec Monfa and Comtesse Adèle-Zoë-Maire-Marquette Tapié de Céleyran.2 Henri’s parents were first cousins, a product of aristocratic inbreeding.3
When Henri was about three (Figure 2), he was given the nickname Petit Bijou translated to mean “little gem” in French.4 Subsequently, he would continually be referenced as Le Petit by others even in his adult life.5 Bébé, meaning “baby” was also a term of endearment.6 Additionally, Henri was called Tapajou, roughly translated as
“rowdy,” a nickname given by his paternal grandfather.7 Petit Bonhomme meaning ‘little fellow’ was a school nickname he had earned as well.8
Henri was an only child until he gained a younger brother three years later named
Richard-Constantine on August 28, 1867, who unfortunately died one night prior to his
1 Julia Bloch Frey, Toulouse-Lautrec: a Life (London: Published by Phoenix, an imprint of Orion Books Ltd, 2007) 11. 2 Matthias Arnold, Toulouse-Lautrec (Slovakia: Taschen, 2016) 93. 3 Arnold, 93. 4 Arnold, 93. 5 Frey, 56. 6 Frey, 14. 7 Frey. 29. 8 Frey, 58. 6 6
Figure 2 - Henri at 3 in 1867 - Photograph (Credit: Source Julia Frey/No Copyright/PD- old) commons.wikimedia.org first birthday in Loury, France.9 Apparently the child was struck by “an epidemic of intestinal disease, perhaps cholera in the region.”10 This tragedy once again left Henri as the only child to Alphonse and Adèle.
Such circumstances changed the relational dynamics between Henri and his parents and extended family.11 Perhaps his parents own marriage was also altered by these same dynamics, since Alphonse and Adèle coincidentally (or probably not) separated the same year Richard-Constantine died.12 Not surprisingly, their separation created division rather than cohesion in regard to the dealings with their son Henri. Both parents usually related with Henri independently. Often in disagreement with each other,
9 Frey, 26; 30-31. 10 Frey, 30. 11 Arnold, 93. 12 Arnold, 93. 7 7 usually they were unable to set aside their personal issues to come to an agreement to satisfy Henri. This division between Alphonse and Adèle never ended and became exceedingly more relevant over time as Henri’s life became more involved and complicated with adulthood.
Alphonse de Toulouse-Lautrec: The Artist’s Father The artist’s father, Alphonse, was devoted to all things unorthodox and eccentric.
Alphonse-Charles Comte de Toulouse-Lautrec (Figure 3) was a career officer in the cavalry after he graduated from Saint-Cyr, one of the most prestigious military colleges in France.13 Alphonse was seen as a renowned horseman in his regiment, reaching such ranks as “second lieutenant in the mounted Lancers.”14
He had a striking physical presence of strong masculinity with a barrel-chest, full black beard and the “hawkish” nose of his father.15 His dark features were lit up with bright brown eyes, a physical trait he passed down to his artist son Henri.16 Expectedly charming and intelligent for such a man of his family noble title and lineage, Alphonse was nonetheless not without flaw.17 Despite all his French charm and rugged manliness as a bachelor, ex-soldier, horseman and hunter, at times he could come off as undisciplined, irresponsible and unaccountable, seemingly lacking the skills to plan for the future or finish what he started.18 Military life obviously came with a high expectation for these very traits Alphonse seemed to lack.19 So it came as no surprise
13 Frey, 11. 14 Frey, 11. 15 Frey, 11. 16 Frey, 11. 17 Frey, 11. 18 Frey, 11. 19 Frey, 11. 8 8
Figure 3 - Alphonse circa 1860 - Photograph (Credit: Source Julia Frey/No Copyright/PD-old) commons.wikimedia.org when he served “one hundred and thirty-two days in the guardhouse for offenses such as sketching, frivolous tunes on his bugle and being out of uniform.”20 Alphonse, with all his eclectic hobbies, eccentric personality traits and random unorthodoxy qualified himself as the quintessential non-conformist.21 Prior to his marriage, Alphonse “lived a life of riding, racing and weekends in
Paris.”22 As a horseman, he was known to exhaust “three horses in a single day” in his native countryside of Rouergat.23 He was also known to be a wanderer, disappearing for
20 Frey, 11. 21 Frey, 11. 22 Frey, 12. 23 Frey, 12. 9 9 long periods of time, followed by brief entrances of grandeur.24 Interestingly, Alphonse was more attracted to working class women—servants who were beneath his own social status—such as “barmaids and farm girls, who did not mix love into matters of copulation.”25 At the time, most men of the 19th century by today’s standards were chauvinistic and Alphonse represented this along with a strong criticism against the clergy.26 He was once quoted as saying to his nephews wife, “Believe me it is better to be a male toad than a female Christian.”27 Shortly after the birth of his son, Alphonse announced to his family the decision to live full-time at a hunting lodge in Loury.28 While Henri was a toddler, Alphonse turned his Loury bachelor lodge and attempted to turn it into a residence for Adèle, but it soon failed to become home.29 After the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870,
Alphonse eventually abandoned Loury as it was suddenly occupied by Austrian lancer soldiers and then weeks later pillaged by local townspeople.30 Loury was a place Alphonse lived fulltime away from the rest of the family before he eventually gave it up in 1874 to pursue other goals, like teaching Henri horse-riding.31 Nevertheless, before these events, Loury to the north in the Loire Valley served as an exotic if not wild early environment for Henri, specifically associated with his father’s personality and
24 Frey, 46. 25 Frey, 12. 26 Frey, 14. 27 Frey, 14. 28 Frey, 14. 29 Frey, 14-15. 30 Frey, 40. 31 Frey, 57. 10 10 lifestyle.32 Needless to say, “any attempt to escape family pressures was severely judged” but Alphonse always prevailed.33
After Alphonse had well established himself as the absentee father, his young son
Henri began to form surrogate attachments to “any male figure of authority in the vicinity,” two of which included a boat captain and a swimming teacher.34 Not too surprisingly, he would cry when separated from them.35 It has been speculated that
Alphonse’s lack of bond and distance from Henri, even at birth, could have been a father’s immediate and permanent response to abnormal offspring.36 Despite his own eccentricities, Alphonse was “an expert judge of animal perfection.”37 As a father and experienced trainer and breeder, Alphonse knew the consequences of inbreeding (both in humans and animals) and possibly concluded at Henri’s birth, “There was something wrong with the normally proportioned, but very small, baby.38 According to speculation,
“Alphonse’s abrupt disappearance” just days after his son’s birth and a “refusal to see the child again for six months” argue of rejection, rather than general disinterest in fatherhood.39 Frey notes and it has been speculated that competitive-athletic type fathers show greater sensitivity “to any physical abnormality in a child, sometimes even before the abnormality has been recognized.”40 Based on this theory and medical observation,
32 Frey, 14. 33 Frey, 15. 34 Frey, 43. 35 Frey, 43. 36 Frey, 23. 37 Frey, 23. 38 Frey, 23. 39 Frey, 23. 40 Frey, 23. 11 11
“it is not rare for the father to avoid contact with the child”—especially if a son.41 All of these speculative and theoretical arguments could explain Alphonse’s detachment and disappearance in Henri’s life based on such debate.
Henri soon “formed a dual opinion of Alphonse,” holding both resentment for his father’s absence and yet fascination for his father’s mysterious glamour.42 Growing up in the household, he could easily reflect on “his mother’s resentment of her inattentive husband” as he witnessed her frustrations first hand.43 During his life, when explaining his mother and father’s relationship, Henri at one point proclaimed, “my mother couldn’t resist a pair of red riding trousers,” referring to his father’s seductive qualities as horseman.44 Nevertheless, Henri’s own fascination could be explained, since despite criticism, Alphonse often “excelled in what he personally admired.”45
Historically, Alphonse is credited for his son’s eccentricity in life; both men lived up to the reputation of the Toulouse-Lautrec side of the family.46 Alphonse’s potential for visual spectacle could both charm and outrage observers and regardless of his own reasoning, he seemed to exist outside anyone’s expectations.47 One time at the Château du Bosc during lunch, Alphonse greeted his fellow guests “dressed in a Scottish plaid outfit with a ballet dancer’s tutu in place of the kilt,” a forecast of his son’s future with exotic costumes.48 Alphonse along with two brothers (Charles and Odon) also had
41 Frey, 23. 42 Frey, 15. 43 Frey, 15. 44 Frey, 12. 45 Frey, 15. 46 Frey, 16. 47 Frey, 16-17. 48 Frey, 16. 12 12 artistic flair, known to paint animals, hunting scenes and open landscapes in mediums such as watercolor—a case for a Toulouse-Lautrec artist gene.49
Alphonse was an animal lover.50 Though he hunted animals, he was still an advocate for their preservation, where many times his unusual passion for animals seemed to surpass his love for human beings.51 As a lover of the hunt (especially exotic animals) and all things eccentric, it made perfect sense Alphonse would also be fond of birds of prey such as “falcons, ospreys, hawks and owls.”52 One time, Alphonse paraded through the streets of Paris in a high-wheeled carriage with a lady inside the compartment.53 Outside several falcon and owl bird cages swung attached underneath the rear axle, a spectacle many witnessed as his birds “got some fresh air” as justified by the
Falconer.54 Disappearing on his honeymoon in Nice and boarding a train to forget his wife on the platform are just two other examples of outrageousness by Alphonse throughout his life.55Alphonse even trained cormorant birds to hunt for fish in the presence of his son, a hobby that would reappear in Henri’s life later.56 As Comte, one of
Alphonse’s official titles was indeed Falconer and an 1879 watercolor his son painted of him with a falcon bird on hand corroborates this relationship (Figure 4).57
49 Frey, 45. 50 Frey, 15. 51 Frey, 15. 52 Frey, 16. 53 Frey, 16. 54 Frey, 16. 55 Frey, 16-17. 56 Frey, 68. 57 Frey, 80-81. 13 13
Figure 4 - The Falconer, Comte Alphonse circa 1881 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Painting Oil on Board (No Copyright/Public Domain) http://www.the- athenaem.org/art/detail/.php?ID=8762
It became apparent over time, “Alphonse used riding and hunting as a way of escaping from things he didn’t wish to confront.”58 At one time, he told his son how the horse, the hound and the hawk were precious companions to help one forget the bitterness of life.59 One could easily describe Loury as a hunting lodge with deep woods—a mysterious wilderness—where other hunters rode in on their horses and visited him, dogs included.60 Alphonse stayed at Loury and was not present when Adèle gave birth to their second (and eventually lost) son Richard at the Albi mansion in 1867.61
58 Frey, 14. 59 Frey, 14. 60 Frey, 21. 61 Frey, 26. 14 14
Even though he was absent at his birth, Alphonse did comfort his wife Adèle during the loss of Richard contrary to his presumed selfishness.62
As husband, Alphonse received a $25,000 franc dowry paid to him directly in installments as a benefit for his marriage to Adèle.63 Adèle’s installments of monthly allowance were also directly paid to Alphonse.64 Alphonse created animosity in family business and property decisions by making demands even though he neglected to address the necessary details.65 Sometimes Alphonse tried to help in the domestic duties, especially in the preparing and cooking of hunted game, but often it would lead to resentment from others, such as Adèle.66 Alphonse was three years older than his wife, another reason to question his lack of maturity, when it came to resolving adult family matters.67
Finally, as a sign of what was to come, Alphonse was outraged at Henri’s first
“datable lithograph” poster Moulin Rouge, La Goulue (1891) (Figure 5), rejecting the very artwork that began his son’s career as a famous artist in 19th century Paris.68
Alphonse, who Adèle usually called Alph, would continue to be distant, unpredictable and even disloyal to their son as he established his own identity from the family.69
Eventually, from a distance, it would be solely up to Adèle to support Henri as an avant- garde artist in Paris.
62 Frey, 31. 63 Frey, 35. 64 Frey, 35. 65 Frey, 35. 66 Frey, 20. 67 Frey, 12-13. 68 Frey, 294. 69 Frey, 11. 15 15
Figure 5 - Moulin Rouge, La Goulue circa 1891 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Color Lithograph (No Copyright/Public Domain) http://www.athenaeum.org/art/ detail.php?ID=8842
16 16 Adèle de Toulouse-Lautrec: The Artist’s Mother The artist’s mother, Adèle Comtesse de Toulouse-Lautrec (Figure 6), was a conventional and devout Catholic, quite the opposite of Alphonse.70 Because of her convictions, Adèle never saw divorce as an option to avoid her husband’s afflictions on her or her son.71 Adèle was the classic religious Roman Catholic woman of the time, sacrificing herself for the virtues of acceptance, children, devotion, duty, gravity, modesty, piety, prayer, reservation and resignation.72 She was often referred to as a
Martyr.73 When challenged or upset, her shadow side could reveal itself as coldness, sanctimony and silence.74 Nevertheless, in her martyrdom, Adèle was Henri’s lifeline. She maintained her position as his number one supporter financially and otherwise, another opposite to Alphonse.75
Over time, mother and child became friends and confidants, as Adèle disclosed her own heart and soul to Henri, causing them both to learn to depend on each other, especially since the roles of husband and father were missing and therefore unreliable.76
The comment “My mother couldn’t resist a pair of red riding trousers” could have been an attempt to explain his mother’s own imperfections in life as she submitted to the carnal temptation of his father’s equestrian valor, demonstrating her own human error.77
Vulnerable but committed, when her second son Richard passed, she struggled to keep faith in God as a broken hearted mother, but relentlessly resigned herself to death as a
70 Frey, 13. 71 Frey, 19. 72 Frey, 13. 73 Frey, 13. 74 Frey, 13. 75 Frey, 33. 76 Frey, 33. 77 Frey, 12. 17 17
Figure 6 - Adèle circa 1860 - Photograph (Credit: Source Julia Frey/No Copyright/PD- old) commons.wikimedia.org cruelty in a sad world of sacrifice and pain, confessing, “but God has his views which are not obscure like our own.”78
Out of the multiple family estates, Adèle seemed to prefer Hôtel du Bosc in Albi when ready to give birth, where both her mother and Alphonse’s mother (the two oldest sisters and grandmothers in the dynasty) could attend to her pregnancy.79 Adèle tried to move in with Alphonse at Loury when Henri was just shy of two years old (ignoring the divorce option), but ultimately she disliked the hunting lodge, despite her husband’s efforts to welcome her.80 Later, Alphonse returned the favor of rejection to Adèle—by
78 Frey, 31. 79 Frey 10. 80 Frey, 20-21. 18 18 refusing to live at her newly bought estate Malromé—as it has been suggested he only visited there twice in his lifetime.81
Adèle, probably due to her natural conservative posture, was “a meticulous manager of household funds” independent of Alphonse.82 She would secretly receive $4,000 franc supplement installments from her mother separate from the dowry and allowance Alphonse benefited from her.83 Throughout her life, Adèle used money as a means to retaliate against her seemingly frivolous husband and as a way to keep power over her son Henri while he was living in Paris.84 Her mother Louise, (Henri’s grandmother) would channel Adèle’s payments in the form of various supplements, inheritances or extra monies.85 These payments were kept secret from Alphonse to maintain Adèle’s independence from external influences.86
Because of Alphonse’s reckless reputation, Adèle learned to not trust him with family business, inheritance, law, money, product, real estate or any other transaction where consequences could be significant.87 Eventually her technique for handling family transactions was to avoid Alphonse upfront, handling matters without a need to confront him on his shortcomings altogether.88 Unfortunately, Adèle was left to rectify any damage her husband’s character bestowed on family relatives, another virtuous act of martyrdom on her part.89
81 Frey, 154-55. 82 Frey, 13. 83 Frey, 35. 84 Frey, 35. 85 Frey, 35. 86 Frey, 35. 87 Frey, 35. 88 Frey, 35. 89 Frey, 35-36. 19 19
To get a sense of the frustration and resentment Adèle must have felt toward her husband, it is necessary to consider the Orléans, France episode that took place when
Henri was just a child.90 Alphonse had instructed his wife to bring Henri to the Orléans train station so they could all travel together as a family to Paris.91 But due to her already learned mistrust of Alphonse, she decided to bypass the Orléans instruction and travel directly to Paris.92 When she finally arrived with Henri, she found her husband Alphonse already in Paris.93 Without ever telling Adèle, he changed his travel plan and went straight away to Paris, leaving her to proclaim to her mother, “If I’d listen to him…I’d still be waiting in Orléans.”94 Yet, in the family, there was still a bizarre accepted contradiction that Alphonse loved his wife and child despite such bizarre behavior.95 For a young Henri, his father’s behavior along with his mother’s visible and verbal frustration must have created a sense of unpredictability creating instability leading to feelings of insecurity. Another episode of mistrust occurred in the summer of 1866 between Adèle and her husband Alphonse.96 Apparently some “transgression” at the hands of her husband occurred at the wedding of first cousins, Alix and Amédée, Alphonse’s sister and Adèle’s brother respectively.97 The exact offense itself was not specifically identified in family letters of correspondence but it was referenced as a direct humiliation to Adèle and her
90 Frey, 16. 91 Frey, 16. 92 Frey, 16. 93 Frey, 16. 94 Frey, 16. 95 Frey, 18. 96 Frey, 19. 97 Frey, 19. 20 20 marriage to Alphonse.98 Henri was in the care of his paternal grandparents during the time of the incident.99
Right after this incident, Adèle (perhaps in shock if not humiliation) decided to immediately visit her mother and stayed for two months, neglecting to retrieve Henri at Château du Bosc from Alphonse’s parents.100 Unfortunately her unexpected disappearance of 1866 haunted Henri for the rest of his life as a lingering threat of possible abandonment by his mother.101 And yet, despite her two month separation, Adèle afterwards professed that her life was dedicated to her son, writing to her mother,
“My life is completely concentrated on him; this is what I’m thinking this evening by the fire.”102
Adèle, cautious of the big city in comparison to the south of France, monitored both her and Henri’s movements and activities in Paris.103 She refused taking the seasick lift (elevator), ignored certain party invitations and forbid her son Henri to “make the fifteen-minute walk to school unaccompanied” all after living more than two years in
Paris.104
Interestingly, Adèle’s forecast of potential danger in the big city might have been quite keen, considering her and Henri were involved in a freak accident around March 20,
1883, walking in the streets of Paris.105 They were both unwittingly knocked to the ground by a horse carriage, where Henri “was mostly bruised, but Adèle was badly
98 Frey, 19. 99 Frey, 19. 100 Frey, 19. 101 Frey, 19. 102 Frey, 23. 103 Frey, 58. 104 Frey, 58. 105 Frey, 152. 21 21 injured.”106 Later, after the fall, it was suggested Henri had a concussion to the head while Adèle “developed a high fever, which caused the doctors to fear that she might have peritonitis,” an inflammation of the abdomen.107
Henri, as devoted a son as she was a mother, attended her needs after the fall and wrote to inform his uncle Amédée of Adèle’s recovery and disposition, giving thanks to
God they were both saved from such an accident.108 The next year, by October 1884, despite their mutual closeness and many shared experiences, Henri lived in Paris alone never to live with Adèle again.109
Ultimately, Henri and his mother Adèle had a love-hate relationship as each tried to dominate the other.110 He would call her Maman to her face; while to her back it was either Adèle or “my poor sainted mother.”111 Their tug-of-war battle would last a lifetime, mainly focused around the pious versus bohemian lifestyles.
The Toulouse-Lautrecs: Royal Inbreeding, Noble Aristocracy & Family Estate It might seem startling to contemporary society, but as early as the 19th century: marrying kin (including cousins) was a common practice for royal families and noble aristocrats to protect inherited assets and titles.112 F.C. Ceballos and G. Álvarez in Royal
Dynasties as Human Inbreeding Laboratories: The Habsburgs (2013), offer one of the
106 Frey, 152. 107 Frey, 152. 108 Frey, 152. 109 Frey, 165. 110 Frey, 80. 111 Frey, 6. 112 Frey, 11. 22 22 most documented examples of family inbreeding from 1450-1750 found in the Habsburg
Dynasty (House of Austria) of Europe, lasting for multiple generations.113
Historically, the tradition and practice of family inbreeding can be traced back as far as ancient times amongst queens, kings, emperors and pharaohs. According to Russell Middleton’s Brother-Sister and Father-Daughter Marriage in Ancient Egypt journal article of 1962, inbreeding was a normal practice “to keep privilege and rank rigidity within the group.”114 Traditionally, the practice of inbreeding was reserved for royal monarchies and dynasties, but there have been cases of its practice among commoners as well.115 Inbreeding has been found in the ancient Egyptian Pharaonic Period, Ptolemaic
Period and Roman Period (332 B.C to 324 A.D.) in both royal and commoner families.116 Inbreeding has also been identified in both the Inca and Hawaiian cultural civilizations as well.117 There are other examples of inbreeding practice that’s taken place throughout the world, such as with the Toulouse-Lautrec’s in France. The Toulouse-Lautrec family is comprised of Alphonse Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa and Adèle Tapié de Céleyran family bloodlines. They originate “from a secondary branch of one of the oldest and most prestigious families in France, the Toulouse Dynasty.”118 It is a dynasty that “had ruled the regions of Toulouse and Aquitaine a thousand years” prior to Henri’s birth.119
113 F C Ceballos and G Álvarez, “Royal Dynasties as Human Inbreeding Laboratories: the Habsburgs,” Heredity 111, no. 2 (October 2013): pp. 114-121, https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.2013.25) 114 Russell Middleton, “Brother-Sister and Father-Daughter Marriage Ancient Egypt,” American Sociological Review 27, no.5 (1962): p. 603, https://doi.org/10.2307/2089618) 603. 115 Middleton, 603. 116 Middleton, 603 117 Middleton, 603. 118 Frey, 24. 119 Frey, 24. 23 23
By Alphonse and Adèle marrying, they ensured “one’s mate had as noble a bloodline as oneself” as it simultaneously “kept property and inheritances within the family, instead of dispersing them.”120 Initially, the Toulouse-Lautrecs were monarchists, believing in a noble family rule of aristocratic government rather than a Republic where the governing power was held by the people.121
Likened to kings, the Counts of Toulouse (Figure 7) ruled an enormous part of southern France which included Languedoc, Rouergue and Province regions, despite wars and rivals over a timeline of five hundred years.122 Throughout these five hundred years, the gene pool of the Counts of Toulouse produced leaders with the physical and mental strength of famous heroes of valor.123
Figure 7 - Old Plate Illustrating the Penance of the Count of Toulouse in 1209 - Photograph (Credit: Author TigH/No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
120 Frey, 11. 121 Frey, 11. 122 Frey, 24. 123 Frey, 240. 24 24
Toulouse, Lautrec and Montfa are all names of southern geographical locations adopted in Henri’s official family name where previous ancestors had been lords of each corresponding named region, “an indication of the importance of his origins”124
Toulouse was known as a great city further south from Henri’s birthplace Albi, with the small village of Lautrec, directly east while the commune-parish of Montfa, sat just a few miles outside the Lautrec village boundaries.125
In French peerage, Alphonse and Adèle were Comte and Comtesse respectively, equivalent to the noble English peerage titles of Count and Countess. Their sole male child held the title of Vicomte (Viscount directly under Count Alphonse) where upon his father’s death, the greater title would traditionally be inherited to the male heir next in line, creating Comte Henri or more formally—the Comte (Count) of Toulouse-
Lautrec.126
The total income of the entire family (Toulouse-Lautrecs and Imbert du Boscs) combined, was derived from “their properties, particularly from tenant farming and vineyards.”127 No members in the family “worked for a salary,” but eventually all family members would at times be called “to administer the family holdings” in some degree.128
Most, if not all of the noble titles were inherited by the Counts of Toulouse-Lautrec, while the majority of Alphonse and Adèle’s wealth was inherited by the Imbert du Boscs
(Adèle’s family branch) which sustained their lifestyle and later their son’s in Paris.129 The Imbert du Boscs were Barons who had a natural inclination to accumulate chateaus,
124 Frey, 11. 125 Frey, 11. 126 Frey, 26. 127 Frey, 35. 128 Frey, 35. 129 Frey, 25. 25 25 lands, townhouses and vineyards like a business.130 Such accumulation can be seen in the Toulouse-Lautrec large family estates Henri spent time throughout his life.
Château du Malromé, located outside of Bordeaux in the village of Saint-Macaire, was a family estate where Adèle lived after purchased in 1883.131 It was the place her artist son would eventually die in 1901.132 Malromé’s purchase was in response to
Phylloxera, an insect louse (grape lice) that had infested the vineyards at Ricardelle, a property owned by Alphonse and Adèle.133 Adèle’s mother offered to purchase the property for her daughter after the loss of Ricardelle.134 The artist Henri spent many holidays at his mother’s château when he left Parisian Montmartre to go home to the south of France according to Unpublished Correspondence of Henri De Toulouse-
Lautrec (1963) by Lucien Goldschmidt, and Herbert Schimmel.135
The Château du Bosc (Le Bosc for short) was the family estate which belonged to
Gabrielle du Bosc de Toulouse-Lautrec (Alphonse’s mother) Henri’s grandmother.136 It was originally built like a fortress and was inherited from Gabrielle’s father, Henri’s great-grandfather.137 Eventually, Alphonse “had decided to give up his heredity right” and sold the red-shuttered Le Bosc to his sister and brother-in-law, Alix and Amédée.138
130 Frey, 25. 131 Frey, 154. 132 Frey, 154. 133 Frey, 138. 134 Frey, 138. 135 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Lucien Goldschmidt, and Herbert Schimmel, Unpublished Correspondence of Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec 273 Letters by and about Lautrec... (London: Phaidon, 1969) 40-41. 136 Goldschmidt and Schimmel, 1969, 40-41. 137 Frey, 28. 138 Frey, 138. 26 26
They had consistently approached Alphonse to buy the estate since 1865.139 His final compliance might have been persuaded by his own financial needs. In addition, at the time, he seemed to want nothing to do with Le Bosc, preferring to reside at his hunting lodge in Loury.140 Unfortunately, by Alphonse selling Le Bosc, he forfeited his right, “as the eldest son and heir to the title of The Count of Toulouse-Lautrec,” which nullified his own son’s ability to directly inherit the estate later.141
This act could have been seen as a partial disinheritance since it also negated his son’s noble title.142 Henri was never even told of the sale of Le Bosc and only discovered its loss in inheritance later in 1884.143 As Frey states, “by selling the property that should have been his, his father had symbolically rejected him.”144 His expectation to become the Count of Toulouse-Lautrec upon Alphonse’s death had been lost.145
Further, in 1894, when Henri was thirty years old, Alphonse “sold almost two thousand five hundred acres” in the family countryside of Ricardelle in the south of France that happened to be part of the main source of Henri’s annual income while living in Paris.146
Henri’s response was to take more control over his personal life by selling more of his art.147
139 Frey, 138. 140 Frey, 138. 141 Frey, 313. 142 Frey, 392. 143 Frey, 138. 144 Frey, 138. 145 Frey, 138. 146 Frey, 393. 147 Frey, 393. 27 27
The Château de Céleyran was the family estate which belonged to Louise du Bosc
Tapié de Céleyran (Adèle’s mother) and Henri’s other grandmother.148 Similarly, this family estate, known as Villa de César, was inherited by Louise from her father; Henri’s other great-grandfather.149 The Château de Céleyran held early memories for Henri, a place he spent many years during his child development.150 Céleyran also included
“three thousand five hundred acres of farmland and vineyards.”151 Louise, Adèle’s mother, inherited this estate along with 7 more with the passing of her father.152 But, unfortunately, due to poor health, Louise could no longer “maintain the estate” and it was eventually sold off to strangers about 1884.153
Through the family transactions, Alphonse’s brother, Charles, inherited the Hôtel du Bosc, the Albi townhouse, another estate of the Toulouse-Lautrec’s.154 This was the home of Adèle’s great-aunt Joséphine d’Imbert du Bosc and the place Henri was born in
1864.155 By 1894, Alphonse eccentrically moved into the tall tower (Figure 8) of his brother’s new townhouse when he found himself without a functional estate.156 This unorthodox move was perhaps not so surprising since Alphonse was absent of both Loury and Le Bosc by that time.
148 Goldschmidt and Schimmel, 1969, 40-41. 149 Frey, 26; 84. 150 Goldschmidt and Schimmel, 1969, 40-41. 151 Frey, 26. 152 Frey, 26. 153 Frey, 169. 154 Frey, 312-13. 155 Frey 14. 156 Frey, 313. 28 28
Figure 8 - The Hôtel du Bosc Tower where Alphonse Lived in 1894 - Photograph (Credit: Author Krzysztof Golik/Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) No Changes Made) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode
These Toulouse-Lautrec family estates played similar and yet different roles in the life of the artist: as a birthplace, a childhood playground, an escape from Paris, a place to die and even as a museum to commemorate his life.
Despite their separation, Alphonse and Adèle’s marital union granted them personal power and control over centuries of inherited family estates and financial resources. This ironically enabled their son to live a detached and removed bohemian lifestyle free from the concerns of the aristocracy and bourgeoisie and the industrial revolution’s workforce labor of 19th century Europe.
As detached and removed Henri became from his southern aristocratic roots,
Alphonse and Adèle with their family heritage, relationship dynamics and financial support, undoubtedly played an influential role in shaping the life experiences of the artist until the very end. For Henri, experiences that at times bred more resentment than gratitude. 29 29 The Move to Paris: Hôtel Peréy, Baccalauréat Exams & Formal Pursuit of Art The family left Albi to live at the Hôtel Pérey in Paris by 1872, where Adèle decided to send Henri to school in the city “for the first time in his life” just around eight years old.157 The Hôtel Pérey was located at 5 cite du Retiro, near the rue du Faubourg, Saint-Honoré and rue Boissy d’ Anglas in Paris.158 Over time, the Toulouse-Lautrecs, including extended cousins, utilized the Hôtel Pérey as a family residence in Paris, sometimes even occupying an entire floor in the hotel.159 The move to the Hôtel Pérey was relevant, because this is when and where Henri became introduced to Paris and starts to acclimate to an urban cosmopolitan metropolis, offering the potential for a new life.
The move to Paris was in the spirit to prepare and organize Henri’s future.160
From 1873 to 1876 he attended both primary (elementary) and secondary
(middle) schooling intermittently, including in July 1874 when he left to study under his mother’s supervision.161 By or around May 11, 1876 he fulfilled (passed) these educational stages when he was 12 years old.162 Under the French Napoleonic
Administration educational system, as described in Samira El Atia’s “From Napoleon to
Sarkozy: Two Hundred Years of The Baccalauréat Exam” (2008), Henri would then prepare to pass his baccalauréat (bac for short), a national exam system first implemented in 1808.163 The bac functions to complete French secondary education
157 Frey, 48-49. 158 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Herbert D. Shimmel, The Letters of Henri De Toulouse- Lautrec (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Pr., 1991) 3. 159 Frey, 56. 160 Frey, 116. 161 Goldschmidt and Schimmel, 305. 162 Goldschmidt and Schimmel, 305. 163 Samira El Atia, “From Napoleon to Sarkozy: Two Hundred Years of TheBaccalauréatExam,” Language Assessment Quarterly 5, no. 2 (2008): pp. 142-153, https://10.1080/15434300801934728) 142- 43. 30 30 while it also simultaneously determines entrance into higher-education.164 In France, the
‘bac’ was (and still is) equivalent to the high school diploma earned from a lycée
(equivalent to a high school) where in turn, a licence equates a university bachelor’s degree.165 Candidates were given as little as one year to prepare to cover as much as 500 subjects.166 Therefore, in the 19th century, the bac was a grueling experience as it required Henri to pass a comprehensive oral examination in breadths of math and science, art and humanities and language such as French, Greek and Latin.167 In French society it prestigiously signified the transfer from adolescence to adulthood.168 During this time period, the secondary bac diploma “was an exclusively male and mostly aristocratic or upper-middle class” privilege.169 Henri was expected to attain his; however, it required such young men “to have the wealth and leisure not to work.”170 In Henri’s case, he met the requirements and Adèle was pleased to learn many professors at the school were
“good Catholics,” as she attempted to avoid radicalism, atheism and liberalism in “the state-run schools.”171
During his first attempt in July 1881, he failed the bac exam.172 By his second attempt the following November, he “passed with flying colors.”173 Retaking the exam in
Toulouse seemed to pay off, perhaps a nod to his own namesake.174 Ultimately, the
164 El Atia,”Baccalauréat Exam,”142. 165 El Atia, “Baccalauréat Exam,” 142-153. 166 El Atia, “Baccalauréat Exam,” 146. 167 El Atia, “Baccalauréat Exam,”142-153. 168 El Atia, “Baccalauréat Exam,”144-45. 169 Frey, 60. 170 Frey, 60. 171 Frey, 60. 172 Arnold, 93. 173 Frey, 122. 174 Arnold, 93. 31 31 baccalauréat exam “was the gentleman’s proof of education” and Henri “was not expected to go any further.”175 Adèle also had Henri involved in parochial education while living in Paris, including church services, first communion, confessions, lent and catechism.176 Adèle gave her explanation for her religiosity to her mother in regard to her son, “make progress in the knowledge of God, so much more necessary than that of school.”177
Henri himself wanted to pursue art and received general support from his family.178 He especially had support from Alphonse and Adèle, who both saw their son’s realistic capability to uphold tradition systematically diminish as he became older.179 To the overall family, his art hobby at the time was seen as a distraction “from the physical and psychological discomforts of his handicaps.”180 For Alphonse and Adèle—happiness was their primary objective—for a son who “was not going to have many other options” as he entered adulthood.181 The focus on an art career was the family’s direct response to Henri’s inability to live the noble gentleman’s lifestyle full of riding, hunting, athletics and various other competitive physical pursuits like his father.182 Hence, it was important then that Henri do what was required to become a professional artist and make it his livelihood.
175 Frey, 116. 176 Frey, 58. 177 Frey, 58. 178 Frey, 116. 179 Frey, 116. 180 Frey, 116. 181 Frey, 116. 182 Frey, 116. 32 32 The Parisian Atelier: The Art Masters Princeteau, Bonnat & Cormon Traditionally, aspiring artists would train in what was called an atelier (French for workshop) under a more renowned if not famous artist who would instruct them on the formalities of art practice. Often, this would lead to avant-garde art movements outside or after the atelier as seen with the modern artists of the 19th century. According to The
Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms (2004) the atelier was defined as “an artist’s studio or printmaker’s workshop,” there was also the atelier libre (free studio) where there were no masters or tuition, only artists who shared fees and models.183 Art students working in an atelier are known as rapins.184
The family, especially Alphonse and Adèle, was now left with the decision under which atelier and master would Henri become a rapin. René Princeteau (1843-1920)
(Figure 9), a family friend was first. He already lived in Paris and even though born deaf and dumb, he could lip-read and speak fluently with his own peculiar voice.185 Coincidentally, the artist was temporarily living at the Hôtel Pérey while his art studio- atelier was being remodeled.186 Perhaps his parents thought privately that Princeteau would be easier on Henri due to the art instructor’s own physical condition. By 1881 in
Paris, Princeteau began giving Henri “serious training” in the instructors atelier.187
Under his mentor Princeteau, Henri, got a glimpse and feel for the future lifestyle he would live in Paris as an artist.188 He began to experience freedom via independence as he would leave the Hôtel Pérey and walk the very short distance to Princeteau’s atelier
183 Edward Lucie-Smith, the Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms (NY, N.Y.: Thames & Hudson, 2004) 24. 184 Frey, 131. 185 Frey, 56. 186 Frey, 56. 187 Frey, 117. 188 Frey, 117. 33 33
Figure 9 - Henri in between René Princeteau (Left) and Sculptor Félix Plessis (Right) circa 1890 – Photograph (Credit: Author INJS Paris/No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
34 34 without supervision.189 He began to experience extravagance by the absence of restriction, as “Princeteau…was spoiling him rotten and even gave him the key to his studio as if he were an equal” as described by Adèle.190 Further, under Princeteau, Henri began to experience exoticism, as his first portrait was that of a monkey, a real live art model who happened to eat a tube of paint during the process, which undoubtedly caused great humor and spectacle for the young artist.191 In addition, under the guidance of a professional artist like Princeteau, Henri learned the concept of art sales, commissions and the daily functions of a “portrait artist’s atelier.”192
Over the course of their time together, Princeteau’s ability to “live normally among normal people” despite physical handicap validated and encouraged Henri to believe he too could assimilate.193 Although, later on as Henri moved from one atelier to the next, he made disparaging comments about his original art mentor as if to justify his own selfish pursuits.194 Still, Henri painted more than one portrait of Princeteau, as the instructor wore his signature frock coat and top hat (Figure 10).
At one time, as a testament to Henri’s progress, Princeteau along with the art critic Arsène Alexandre both commented on the challenge to discern the master’s art sketches from his own pupil’s work.195 Princeteau even stated the young artist’s ability to copy his own work “gave him cold chills.”196 Eventually, Princeteau realized he had
189 Frey, 117. 190 Frey, 117. 191 Frey, 117. 192 Frey, 118. 193 Frey, 117. 194 Frey, 142-43. 195 Frey, 116-18. 196 Frey, 118. 35 35
Figure 10 - René Princeteau in his Studio circa 1881-1882 – Oil on Canvas (Credit: Author Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec 1864-1901/Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) No Changes Made) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by- sa/4.0/legalcode (Source: http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=8773) commons.wikimedia.org taught Henri everything he knew and suggested the young artist “move on to other teachers.”197 Henri continued to remain in contact with Princeteau years later.198
By 1882, the decision was made Henri would continue his training under the artist
Léon Bonnat (1833-1923).199 After speaking to Bonnat, both Princeteau and Henri Rachou (1855-1944) arranged introductions between the prospective student and the famous teacher.200 Rachou was an acquaintance of the Toulouse-Lautrec’s and indeed played a role along with Princeteau in convincing Bonnat to take on Henri as a
197 Frey, 118. 198 Frey, 235-236. 199 Frey, 124. 200 Frey, 126. 36 36 student.201 Rachou was also an artist at Bonnat’s and would befriend Henri as they both worked in the atelier.202
This decision was greatly supported by Alphonse and Adèle, since Bonnat was
“one of the most famous portrait painters in France” and “the favourite painter of millionaires.”203 Through his parents’ social connections and the Toulouse-Lautrec lineage Henri was eventually issued a slot into Bonnat’s atelier.204
Art innovators such as the Impressionists were of no concern to Bonnat.205 He saw them as humbugs, revolutionaries, upstart frauds and troublemakers “who were trying to discredit the good name of art.”206 Bonnat was loyal to the conventional and traditional formalities of French painting, based on the overall canon of fine arts.207 To
Bonnat, calculation of proportions, precision in draughtsman-ship and technical accuracies signified the creation of real art.208 At the time, artists such as the
Impressionists were setting out to dismantle Bonnat’s very definition of art and Henri would soon be one of them. Henri’s future asymmetrical matte compositions of risqué personal friends would soon contrast Bonnat’s own perfectly finished glossy portraits of his rich and famous clients.209
201 Frey, 134. 202 Frey, 134. 203 Frey, 124-25. 204 Frey, 126. 205 Frey, 125. 206 Frey, 126. 207 Frey, 125-26. 208 Frey, 125-26. 209 Frey, 328-29. 37 37
Henri continued to gain more independence as an artist from family since the atelier was “off-limits to anyone but Bonnat’s students.”210 As a beginning rapin under
Bonnat, an art student would create drawings of the human body (often from engravings), specifically limbs and appendages (ears, feet, genitals, hands and noses) then progress up to full human heads and bodies, including plaster casts.211 After proven skill, the student would move to “figure drawings from nude models in classic poses” known as académies which would lead into painting.212 Henri’s fellow art students witnessed his struggle as he tried to conform to the expectations of Bonnat.213 Under Bonnat and his academia, it was apparent his rough sketch and loose paint was forsaken for precise accuracy and more rigidity.214 In addition, it seemed the confidence he gained with Princeteau was being challenged, explaining his somewhat loss of control in art medium under Bonnat.215 Interestingly,
Henri’s work became darker under Bonnat compared to his work under Princeteau.216 After training under Princeteau and Bonnat, Henri’s next and last art instructor would be Fernand Piestre Cormon (1854-1924) (Figure 11).217 Cormon was another successful artist known for famous academic paintings shown at the Luxembourg and other prestigious Salons and exhibitions throughout Paris.218 Cormon was used to having many art pupils, however, for the first time, while Henri studied under him, he
210 Frey, 128. 211 Frey, 133. 212 Frey, 133. 213 Frey, 133. 214 Frey, 130. 215 Frey, 130. 216 Frey, 130. 217 Frey, 140. 218 Frey, 140-41. 38 38 would open his first atelier, graciously accepting any of Bonnat’s protégés, including
Rachou.219 Henri mechanically wrote a letter to Alphonse, seeking a blessing to study at
Cormon’s atelier, yet the decision had already been confidently made without his father’s consent.220
Figure 11 - In Cormon's Atelier: Cormon himself at the Easel in Front; Henri to the Front Left of Cormon in Hat circa 1885 - Photograph (Credit: Henri Perruchot/No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikipedia.org
Like Bonnat, Cormon was considered an academic painter, and even though not an Impressionist, he “belonged to a more liberal and popular group of painters who were
219 Frey, 141. 220 Frey, 140-41. 39 39 known as the juste milieu” that incorporated both academic and avant-garde elements.221
The phrase juste milieu, a reference to the middle or medium, demonstrated a blend of traditional and modern painting.222 Cormon’s students immediately recognized the group’s artistic liberation, especially Henri, since he must have still been recuperating from Bonnat’s strict academic atelier.223 The majority of the radical and revolutionary
Impressionist painters had already experienced “the strict tradition of academic training” that Henri was experiencing.224 Similar to Bonnat, Cormon’s atelier was grounded in the laws and perspective of the Renaissance: the light and shade technique of chiaroscuro, the classical pyramid design of a composition and the realistic depiction of natural elements like earth and water.225 In addition, Cormon essentially followed the same classical rules and practice of Bonnat when it came to drawing as it progressed to painting.226
But Cormon “was far more flexible than Bonnat in what he would accept as appropriate atelier painting style.”227 In addition to being more artistically liberated,
Cormon was also “younger and more personable than Bonnat.”228 The new teacher’s atelier was not far away from Bonnat’s and similarly he had a reputation for “producing good artists” and for winning commissions and selling his art to the French government.229 Cormon’s own art depicted an interest in biblical, historical, scientific
221 Frey, 141. 222 Frey, 141. 223 Frey, 141. 224 Frey, 141. 225 Frey, 143-44. 226 Frey, 143-44. 227 Frey, 144. 228 Frey, 141. 229 Frey, 141. 40 40 and archeological subject matter, where he curiously painted landscapes filled with attractive “adolescent models dressed in animal skins and working with primitive tools.”230 His direct, steady, unpretentious personality was well liked by Henri and the other students in the atelier.231 Further, unlike Bonnat, Cormon had the ability to let his guard down with his students, involving them in his own private jokes and sense of humor.232
Henri along with as much as thirty rapins would begin painting every morning in Cormon’s atelier.233 The atelier was filled with metal armor, textile embroideries, copies of masterpieces and even religious icons.234 These objects were still-life props or at the very least inspiration. Two times a week, Cormon would visit each student at their easel to give his own critiques.235 It was also at Cormon’s atelier where Henri would compete in the prestigious concours des places competition among fellow rapins leading to possible admission for the best into the Ecole des Beaux Arts.236 Working under Cormon and his group of rapins, Henri more than likely began experimenting with the avant-garde style and approach that would later characterize his future painting.237 Besides his classical training inside the atelier, Cormon specifically suggested and encouraged his art students to go outdoors, to “work from nature.”238 It was this exact practice of painting outdoors in nature, en plein air, which was a
230 Frey, 142. 231 Frey, 142. 232 Frey, 142. 233 Frey, 142. 234 Frey, 142. 235 Frey, 142. 236 Frey, 172. 237 Frey, 141. 238 Frey, 144. 41 41 trademark of the Impressionists of the time (although en plein air did also exist in academic painting).239
According to Rachou, Cormon’s permission to explore and wander outside the confines of the atelier, significantly inspired Henri.240 The explorations led to a continued growth in “independent identity, from both his family and from his training” which “kept him from feeling philosophically bound to observe the limits of classical taste.”241 Not to mention, at Cormon’s atelier, due to limitations of electricity in Paris, the art students made it a practice to peruse the streets “after nightfall, unless one liked the way gas lighting and oil lamps coloured the canvas.”242
These circumstances also led to Henri’s discovery of the surrounding bars with their various forms of drink (including absinthe), all of which could have arguably been first steps toward his connoisseurship of alcohol.243 The Parisian café, specifically in
Montmartre, offered these artists an arena to share and discuss thoughts and ideas with other artists, including famous painters like Monet, Renoir, and Degas.244 The café was easily accessible and after the purchase of simply one drink, participation in these endless conversations was possible.245 During these intellectual discussions in the café environment, such artists who gathered also exchanged vital social contacts and information, otherwise unattainable, since they often worked in isolation.246
239 Frey, 144. 240 Frey, 144. 241 Frey, 144-45. 242 Frey, 150. 243 Frey, 145. 244 Frey, 150. 245 Frey, 150. 246 Frey, 150. 42 42
Subsequently, these cafes eventually became art galleries.247 As café owners and artist regulars collaborated, it inevitably led to artwork displayed on the walls of the café, serving the dual purpose of both establishment décor and artist promotion.248
Finally, a development of revolution among Cormon’s rapins dissolved the atelier Henri resided at the longest.249 There was a sense of rebellion as “Cormon’s authority as an academic artist” was being questioned by his students.250 It seemed money matters had also played a role since Cormon was found to be “despondent and penniless.”251 These conditions led the rapins to distance themselves from the atelier and pursue other opportunities to forward their art.252 Despite the troubled atelier, Henri still attempted to work there but quickly followed the same pattern as his fellow rapins and eventually left
Cormon’s.253 Cormon decided to officially close his atelier shortly after he personally won the prestigious Médaille d’Honneur at the Salon in 1877.254 Henri’s formal art training was over.
Bohemian Montmartre Paris: Toulouse-Lautrec’s New Home Once Henri accomplished the expected social formalities of earning a formal prestigious French gentleman’s education and working in various ateliers throughout
Paris, he quickly settled into a more custom avant-garde art platform. The artist was driven to find a platform that would offer more than what he had already experienced
247 Frey, 150. 248 Frey, 150-51. 249 Frey, 214-16. 250 Frey, 170. 251 Frey, 214. 252 Frey, 214-15. 253 Frey, 215. 254 Frey, 221-22. 43 43 within the formal establishment’s hierarchal aristocracy of the 19th century. The bohemian community of Montmartre (Figure 12) nestled in the city of Paris and its discovery by the artist was paramount in this platform development. It was here in this community; Henri was free to work as an autonomous artist, finally removed from the influencing forces of family aristocracy, the educational institution and overall establishment. This new found freedom offered the artist a greater level of acceptance and inclusion that was only found within the confines of Montmartre.
Figure 12 - Paris Montmartre, Boulevard de Clichy and the Moulin-Rouge circa 1900 - Photograph (Photo taken a year before Henri’s death) (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
Montmartre, the butte, sits upon a hill to the north in the city of Paris. With an elevation of almost 500 feet above sea level, it holds a history of over 500 artists, inspired by hundreds of acres of French village, creating “a mecca of modern art” from 1860 to 44 44
1920.255 One of its signature landmarks is the Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur (Sacred Heart),
“erected at the end of the 19th century,” representing the gateway entrance to the
Montmartre quarters.256 Visitors must essentially climb 270 steps up to the Basilica in order to reach the entrance of Montmartre.257 Ironically, Montmartre physically looks down upon the city of Paris with elevated views, even though during the modern art movement, it was the city itself that “looked down” on Montmartre socially and culturally for its non-conforming reputation of local outcasts. Still today, the Basilica’s pious presence dramatically contrasts the account of Montmartre’s (the Mount of
Martyrs) reputation to Parisians and the rest of the world.258
The greatest historical event that established the outcast society of Montmartre was the rebuilding of Paris. Emperor Napoleon III (1808-1873) the nephew of Napoleon
Bonaparte (1769-1821), had a vision for a new Paris.259 The French Baron Georges-
Eugène Haussmann (1809-91) under the Monarch of Napoleon III devised new plans for the city.260 These new plans, along with Haussmann and Emperor Napoleon III’s collaboration, turned a compacted populous, restricted road system and tight corridor city into a modern urban metropolitan with international flair.261 Open spaces, wide roads, gardens, parks, tree-lined avenues along with classical elements and aesthetics of beauty defined the new city of Paris.262 More importantly, new water supplies and drainage
255 Sylvie Buisson and Christian Parisot, Paris Montmartre: a Mecca of Modern Art, 1860-1920 (Paris: Terrail, 2004) 20. 256 “Montmartre, “The Mount of Martyrs,” Basilique du Sacré Cœur de Montmartre, last modified February 17, 2016, accessed March 6, 2020, http://www.sacré-coeur-montmartre.com/english/. 257 “The Mount of Martyrs”, sacré-cœur-montmartre.com. 258 “The Mount of Martyrs”, sacré-cœur-montmartre.com. 259 Frey, 184. 260 Frey, 184-85. 261 Frey, 184.85. 262 Frey, 185. 45 45 systems allowed for the removal of foul odors from waste within city limits, greatly increasing public health and sanitation as well as leisure and pleasure.263 With the physical restructuring of the city and the overwhelming entrance of the privileged wealthy, the depraved inhabitants were pushed to the outer limits of the city borders.264 This outsider circumference was referred to as the zone, empty of what Haussmann and
Napoleon III’s new city had to offer the leisured class.265
The quarters of Montmartre sat within the perimeters of the zone or la ceinture rouge (the red belt) where sewer was exposed and there was no running water.266 This physical restructuring of Paris explains the social and cultural construction of
Montmartre’s outer limit community of depraved outcasts.
Such outcasts in Montmartre included cancan dancers, prostitutes, political- criminal anarchists, homosexuals and the avant-garde artist. These and various other individuals deemed risqué found refuge in bohemian society. They were the residents of 19th-century Montmartre Paris. At times, outsiders would come to witness the spectacle of the outcasts. These visitors were sometimes fellow outcasts from different parts of the world (like Oscar Wilde), but commonly, they were visitors from mainstream Parisian society, coming up the hill to partake in that which was considered “unacceptable” in their own communities. As like Henri did with his family and fellow rapins.267 After all,
Montmartre was not just a residential enclave; it was a source of provocative entertainment. Henri personally enjoyed this entertainment and like many artists, found it a source of artistic inspiration.
263 Frey, 185. 264 Frey, 185. 265 Frey, 185. 266 Frey, 185. 267 Frey, 4-5. 46 46
In 19th-century Montmartre, one found an eclectic mix of bohemian establishments including bars, restaurants, theatres, cabarets and dance halls, art studios and galleries, circuses and even brothels. It was these unconventional establishments that ignited both the thrill and disdain towards Montmartre, depending of what posture you held in regard to its existence.
Nevertheless, famous entertainment venues such as Le Moulin de la Galette
(Figure 13) Le Chat Noir Aristide Bruant’s Le Mirlion and Le Moulin Rouge were crowd attractions sustaining and promoting the fame of Montmartre.268
Figure 13 - Paris Montmartre Le Moulin de la Galette circa 1885 – Photograph (Credit: Source Julia Frey/No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikipedia.org
268 Frey, 148-259. 47 47
The presence of prostitutes reveals that sex too was part of the entertainment in
Montmartre. Flourishing prostitutes and the brothels that housed them were easily identifiable in the bohemian community for passersby to locate.269 As time revealed, prostitution and brothels became an everyday facet in Henri’s art career and personal life on the butte.
Perhaps the scenic views, nightlife, evening lights, towering windmills and specific glamour of the Moulin Rouge captivated other aristocratic visitors temporarily, but for Henri, his own enchantment was permanent. He had multiple addresses in
Montmartre throughout his life. He lived at Nos. 19 and 21 Rue Fontaine (1884 to 1891) and 21 Rue Caulincourt (1886) holding two different art studios simultaneously in the quarters.270 Finally, his last apartment in risqué Montmartre was 5 Avenue Frochot
(1897).271
To his apparent delight, after an apprentice life of aristocratic upbringing, formal education and art training, while facing multiple stages of physical pain and suffering, he had ingratiated himself into an alternative bohemian social community and culture. Henri was now fully invested in the newly discovered Montmartre, calling it home. This is the place and time where Henri becomes the famous Parisian modern artist known for his avant-garde drawings, post-impressionistic paintings and art nouveau quality lithographic posters of 19th century Paris.
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Physical Ailment: Discovery, Symptoms, Progression and Prognosis Poignantly, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s physical ailment had its own dark past before the noble aristocrat was free to chase his own future as an artist. In 1865, when
269 Frey, 131. 270 Goldschmidt and Shimmel, 1969, 120.121. 271 Schimmel, 342-343. 48 48
Henri was six month old, Adèle weighed him in at ten pounds and six ounces, commenting, “a fair weight for a baby…or a turkey.”272 According to Adèle,” his first words were ba-ba “and finally at seventeen months Henri “took his first steps.”273
Perhaps not so unusual, but this perceived long delay in walking development was enough for a worrisome mother to notice.274 Little did she realize it would be his height
(short stature) (Figure 14) as the marker of his condition, not his weight necessarily.
Figure 14 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec circa 1892 - Photograph (Photographer: Paul Sescau) (No Copyright/PD-old) commons.wikimedia.org
272 Frey, 18. 273 Frey, 18. 274 Frey, 18. 49 49
By May of that same year and age, there was also first sign indication there might be something “abnormal about his physical development.”275 M. Seguin, a family doctor, made observations of Henri’s foot, “warning them that it shouldn’t be neglected.”276 The insinuation was that whatever concern the doctor expressed about the physical issue of the toddler’s foot was innate and not due to an environmental injury, since Henri hadn’t began to walk yet.277 Throughout his childhood, such observations by professionals would make Adèle anxious and leave her to instinctually feel “that all was not quite right” with young Henri.278 It is worth noting, during provincial 19th-century France, most families (including wealthy) did not call upon a doctor unless they believed it absolutely necessary.279
Adèle used Quinine, (a drug for malaria) to treat Henri’s “terrible sinus headaches” which were possibly connected to his nearsightedness, but eventually corrected with pince-nez glasses by adolescence.280 Henri’s headaches could reach a level of severity to wake him up crying in the middle of the night.281 His entire life,
Henri had “terrible toothaches” which “may not have been caused by decay at all, but by pressure from his sinus cavities” as they developed and malformed with age.282 Henri had developed chronic sinus trouble and spoke with a characteristic lisp.283 Throughout
275 Frey, 18. 276 Frey, 18. 277 Frey, 18. 278 Frey, 18. 279 Frey, 18. 280 Frey, 77. 281 Frey, 77. 282 Frey, 59. 283 Frey, 77. 50 50 his life he seemed to have “frequent colds and a continuous runny nose.”284 He learned to cope with a “postnasal drip caused by his misshapen sinus cavities” by “interrupting his speech with a repetitive sniff” during conversation.285 This was a physical ‘tic’ that undoubtedly would have impacted other’s perception of him. During the 19th century, formal dentistry was feasible to only extract a rotten tooth beyond repair while “a toothpick and a glass of water” was left to define personal oral hygiene besides a toothbrush.286 Anyone who had a complex dental or hygienic condition involving the sinuses would probably not be quick to find an easy resolution. In addition to toothaches,
Henri would also complain about cramps, sore joints and general mal-developed bones.287 Hence, it was not uncommon for him to walk with a cane throughout his life and it actually became one of his trademarks as often portrayed in pop culture.288
After everything she and Henri had experienced, Adèle was coming to terms with the realization that “her son’s walk was far from perfect,” since Henri still had “continued muscular weakness and occasional injuries” along with “shooting pains…making it almost impossible to walk.”289 In the meantime, Henri hated the continued restraints, precautionary measures taken to protect his fragility, and the inability to play with other children.290 As time progressed, he was unable to finish a full day of instruction with a tutor or at the Lycée School as “his physical condition was deteriorating noticeably.”291
284 Frey, 52. 285 Frey, 77. 286 Frey, 59. 287 Frey, 58. 288 Frey, 77. 289 Frey, 70. 290 Frey, 70. 291 Frey, 70. 51 51
Adèle labeled Henri’s attacks of pain or immobility as sprains.292 Some of his attacks were so serious, such as knee pain, it had the power to prevent him from walking at all.293 Without any clear diagnosis, Toulouse-Lautrec’s condition (whatever it happened to be) was taking its natural course of development.294 Unfortunately, the prognosis was a development of a—disorder, infirmity, syndrome, malady—causing advancing bone fractures, pain and suffering.
There are significant disagreements (including outright contradictions) as to what Toulouse-Lautrec suffered from as it relates to an official medical diagnosis. Henri never received a clear diagnosis in regard to his physical ailment; rather he only received casual suggestion, speculative opinion and therapeutic treatment from others as to address the symptoms which resulted from his condition throughout his life.295 Including him, family, friends and health professionals were all attempting to alleviate if not cure his physical ailment’s symptoms. It is even plausible to speculate that curious strangers approached Henri in public, offering their own take on his daily struggle, especially if he was showing visible signs of symptomology.
According to a 2013 journal of medical humanities by William R. Albury and
George M. Weisz, a French physician by the name of Robert Weisman-Netter from the
1950’s was apparently first to mention the condition suffered by Toulouse-Lautrec.296 In the 1960’s, two French physician doctors M. Lamy and P. Maroteaux were famously first to officially diagnose the physical ailment the artist suffered from as a case of
292 Frey, 70. 293 Frey, 70. 294 Frey, 70-71. 295 Frey, 70-71. 296 William R. Albury and George M. Weisz, “Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and medicine: A triumph over infirmity,” Hektoen International, January 25, 2017, accessed February, 24, 2020, https://hekint.org/2017/01/25/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec-and-medicine-a-triumph-over- infirmity/?highlight=triumph%20over%20infirmity. 52 52 pycnodysostosis.297 Lamy and Maroteaux are accredited for naming the disease and over time it has also been referred to as Toulouse-Lautrec Syndrome.298 The medical term pycnodysostosis along with its alternate spelling—pyknodysostosis—derives from Greek origin etymology (pycno=dense, dys=defective, ostosis=condition of bone).299 Genetically speaking, the defective proteins or enzymes are Cathepsin K, while the defective gene or genes at the chromosomal location is CTSK (1q21).300
Pycnodysostosis is a recessive disorder, meaning “the defective gene must be passed on by both parents in order for the condition to appear in their child.”301
Categorized today within the medical field of pediatrics, pycnodysostosis is a lysosome disorder with an onset of the genetic disease taking place in early childhood.302
A lysosome is one of the organelles in the cell body responsible to breakdown cellular debris.303 A disorder is a deficiency in the enzymes which allows for the accumulation of this cellular debris.304 This accumulation becomes toxic to the body and can cause damage to cells and organs.305 A suspicion and probable diagnosis of pycnodysostosis is apparent if the sclera (the white of the human eye) is pigmented blue during physical examination.306 Such blue pigmentation is attributed to a “deficiency in connective tissue
297 Frey, 71. 298 Albury and Weisz, 1. 299 Albury and Weisz, 1. 300 Robert S. Porter et al., The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy (Kenilworth, NJ: Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co. inc., 2018) 2684. 301 Albury and Weisz, 1. 302 The Merck Manual, 2684. 303 “What Are Lysosomal Storage Disorders?”, WebMD, accessed, April 10, 2020, https://www.webmd.com/children/what-are-lysosomal-storage-disorders#1 304 WebMD, Lysosomal. 305 WebMD, Lysosomal. 306 The Merck Manual, 2480. 53 53 allowing underlying vessels to show through” which can be detected even in infancy.307
Bone sclerosis (hardening) can already be seen on typical x-rays by early childhood.308
Individuals who share the genetic disease can usually resemble each other with a recorded short stature less than or equal to 5 feet.309 Additional identifying clinical features of pycnodysostosis are: frontal and occipital (back) head prominence (such as a visibly enlarged skull with cranium bulges); a delayed closure of the anterior (front) head fontanel; micrognathia (undersized lower jaw); narrow palate (roof of the mouth); delayed eruption and persistence of deciduous teeth (baby teeth); hypodontia (developmental absence of teeth); aplasia (failure of normal organ/tissue development or functionality); hypoplasia of clavicle bone
(shortened development); osteosclerosis (abnormal hardening of bone with increase in bone density); susceptibility to repeated bone fractures; scoliosis (sideways curvature of the spine); spondylolysis (defects/fractures in vertebrae); brachydactyly (shortening of fingers and toes) and grooved or dystrophic (malformed or discolored) nails.310 Hands and feet can be short and broad with rudimentary (short to non-existent) distal phalanges
(tips of fingers and toes) as well (Figure 15).311 Clavicles can also show signs of gracile
(abnormally thinned with possible curvature).312 There is often hypoplasia in both the facial bones and parasinuses while the mandible lower jaw line reflects a more obtuse
(larger than 90 degrees) angle than normal.313 In addition many who suffer from the
307 The Merck Manual, 2480. 308 The Merck Manual, 2480. 309 The Merck Manual, 2480. 310 The Merck Manual, 2480; 2684. 311 The Merck Manual, 2480. 312 The Merck Manual, 2480. 313 The Merck Manual, 2480. 54 54 genetic malady will exhibit a small face and a receding chin as further identifying markers.314
Figure 15 - Typical finding of Short to Non-Existent Distal Phalanges in pycnodysostosis shown in both Flesh (Photo) and X-ray. A pycnodysostosis Hand (Center X-ray) is compared to a Hand with Normal Distal Phalanges (Far Right X-ray). Flattened and Grooved Nails are also visible as seen in Flesh Hands. (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) No Changes Made/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode (Source: PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24767306) https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Panel-A- Typical-finding-of-acro-osteolytic-distal-phalanges-on-X-rays-and-wrinkled-skin_fig1_261916458
Since such core features can present themselves in various ways (internally or externally), it is possible for individuals with the same genetic disease to suffer differently and seek treatment differently. The recommended treatment for pycnodysostosis is more than likely a lifetime requirement of supportive care with the
314 The Merck Manual, 2480. 55 55 possible consideration of hormone therapy.315 In more extreme cases of pycnodysostosis, plastic surgery “has been used to correct severe deformities of the face and jaw.”316
Interestingly enough, even though there are vast claims that Toulouse-Lautrec did suffer from an undiagnosed case of pycnodysostosis, Julia Frey questions such a diagnosis.317 The author does refer to the form of supposed dwarfism Henri had developed as a genetic disease, but without giving it the pycnodysostosis or Toulouse-
Lautrec Syndrome label.318 Frey argues that both physicians based their diagnosis of Henri on “caricatures he had drawn of himself rather than on the numerous accurate photographs of him which still exist.”319
While avoiding a clear alternative diagnosis, Frey claims that Henri’s case was mild in comparison to more crippling and permanent cases numerous other relatives suffered due to genetic inbreeding.320 Some examples are Henri’s godchild, Kiki, who needed crutches to walk and her sister, Fidès—who never walked—confined to a wicker basket her entire life.321 There was also Madeleine, a cousin Henri loved to impersonate, who joined in the pain and suffering through her own legs.322 Yet, even though there is debate as to Henri’s official diagnosis of pycnodysostosis, there is no debate from those who knew him personally, treated him professionally or studied him academically that he suffered on-going physical pain throughout his life. Pain is really what his physical ailment represented his entire life—despite the diagnosis. Still, many have proclaimed
315 The Merck Manual, 2684. 316 The Merck Manual, 2480. 317 Frey, 71. 318 Frey, 71. 319 Frey, 71. 320 Frey, 71. 321 Frey, 71. 322 Frey, 71. 56 56 pycnodysostosis as the answer to Henri’s physical ailment and its painful suffering, even though Frey’s open-ended rebuttal continues to leave room for speculation.
Nevertheless, some have professed that Henri continually wore a hat to cover-up an open “soft-spot” fontanelle (including possible unfused sutures) which are known characteristics of pycnodysostosis (Figure 16).323 However, it is worth noting there are photographs of him with no hat at all (see Figure 1). It has also been suggested that he kept a thick beard to disguise the visible pycnodysostosis facial trait of a deformed mandible.324 Further, it has been pointed out there is probable pycnodysostosis evidence in his hands upon close analytical inspection of multiple photographs of the artist.325
Figure 16 - A Human Skull at Birth showing both front and back “Open Fontanels” (Fontanelles) with corresponding Cranial Sutures circa drawing before 1858 (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
323 Albury and Weisz, 1. 324 Albury and Weisz, 1. 325 Albury and Weisz, 1. 57 57
According to Albury and Weisz, it ultimately cannot be determined what
Toulouse-Lautrec officially suffered from since there were no x-rays of his skeletal bone system while he lived, no autopsy after his death and thus far, no exhumation of his remains, utilizing the advancement of modern studies to come to a final conclusion.326 In addition to pycnodysostosis, various other medical conditions such as osteopetrosis and melorheostosis (both bone diseases) including blood disease have been suggested to have comprised Henri’s physical ailment.327 The debates around the mysterious possibilities of Henri’s physical ailment only adds more mystique to the artist’s legacy today.
During his adolescence, Henri suffered two significant leg fractures. He broke both of his femurs on two separate occasions, just a little over a year apart from each other. The femur bone is considered the longest and strongest bone in the human body, bridging the hip to the knee.
The first femur bone fracture was estimated to occur in May 1878 at the family estate in Albi when Henri was around fourteen years old.328 It happened indoors in front of the family and their local doctor, M. Seguin, who had just arrived.329 Henri’s cane slipped on the waxy floor as he attempted to pull himself out of a low chair to greet the doctor at the immediate request of his father Alphonse.330 His mother Adèle and his grandmother Gabrielle (Alphonse’s mother) were also present.331 The final outcome of this first fall was a left femur bone fracture; an emergency cardboard leg splint; a final leg brace apparatus; liquid tranquilizer and bed confinement for as much as forty-two
326 Albury and Weisz, 1. 327 Albury and Weisz, 1. 328 Frey, 87. 329 Frey, 87. 330 Frey, 87. 331 Frey, 87. 58 58 days.332 The Albi doctor M. Seguin, who was present during the accident, set the emergency cardboard splint.333
The second femur bone fracture was estimated to occur in July of 1879 outdoors when Henri was around fifteen years old.334 As the adolescent Henri walked with his mother Adèle in Barèges, he stepped in a shallow gully characteristic of a dried-up water ravine.335 Unfortunately, this step caused his right leg femur to fracture.336
Coincidentally, the leg apparatus that braced the first fracture was immediately located in Albi and used to brace the second fracture.337 Expectedly, the same consequences that applied to the first fracture did apply to the second. But, this time, after the nursing of the second fracture was complete, there seemed to be a new heightened awareness around body weight, mobility and bone strength.338 The family did not want to attempt any activity if “there was the slightest chance of provoking another accident.”339 This new family attitude toward accident prevention was veritably the final outcome of this additional and surprisingly quick second fracture.340 By this time in his life, Henri had experienced constant supervision and multiple restrictions denying him the freedom, privacy and mobility he must have desired.
These two critical femur leg bone fractures more than likely contributed to and possibly perpetuated Henri’s stunted growth in physical height. Both fractures occurred
332 Frey, 87-92 333 Frey, 87. 334 Frey, 104. 335 Frey, 104. 336 Frey, 104. 337 Frey, 104. 338 Frey, 109. 339 Frey, 109. 340 Frey, 109. 59 59 in his adolescence, a human developmental stage where height increases due to overall bone growth in length (puberty).
The late Sir Terence Cawthorne FRCS, has stated that when Henri was 13 years old it was identified that he was approximately 4 feet 11 ½ inches tall which was somewhat average for his age.341 Apparently, this height measurement was just prior to the first femur fracture in his left leg in 1878.342 Then after the second femur fracture in his right leg, reports state he only grew as little as ¾ of an inch.343 Finally, when he reached 18 years old, he measured in at approximately 5 feet ½ inch according to claims.344 But Frey’s adult maximum height record for Henri is “a little over 4 feet 11 inches tall,” only somewhat corroborating Cawthorne’s approximation.345 The debate in regard to his true and maximum height just adds more mystery to the legacy of Toulouse-
Lautrec.
Toulouse-Lautrec: An Eccentric Personality Full of Theatrics Henri was quite eccentric, a term frequently used to describe artists. However, his eccentricities were very often related to the cause and effect of his physical ailment, a specificity lacking in the other artists. His dress habits were suited for his own ailing body that conditioned his personal style over time.346 Along with wearing stained artist hands in public, Henri assembled colors, patterns and accessories that did not always
341 All Heal: a Medical and Social Miscellany: a Collection of Lectures of Interest to the General Reader, given at the Royal Society of Medicine. (London: Heinemann Medical Books for the Royal Society of Medicine, 1971) 192. 342 Sir Cawthorne, 192. 343 Sir Cawthorne, 192. 344 Sir Cawthorne, 192. 345 Frey, 269. 346 Frey, 2. 60 60 reflect traditions of aristocracy or Parisian fashion.347 A portrait of Henri by the painter
Édouard Vuillard (1868-1940) La Cuisine de Monsieur Momo Célibataire (1880) shows
“him in a floppy hat, bright yellow trousers, a red shirt and a large red and white plaid kerchief.”348 The artist was also known for his unconventional beige and black checkered trousers worn in public and captured by photographers of the time.349 His motive for personal style might have been creativity or it could have been visual peacocking, a nonverbal rebellion, passive-aggressively challenging the establishment. Either way, Henri faced real threats for his attire and artwork—vulnerable to verbal or physical attack—even though these same qualities of his were used to seduce friends and lovers.350
In addition to his atypical outer garments, he was known to layer his under clothes as well, wearing multiple “underwear, knitted long-johns and extra undershirts,” regardless of the weather.351 Perhaps one would conclude the method behind his practice was to sculpt the body he desired or at least made him feel more comfortable or protected.
His outer garments must have been modified to accommodate his reduced body frame and lessened height via tailoring and alterations. Understandably, this would have been necessary since clothing shops and their sizes predominately accommodated (and still do) the standard heights and weights of men in the general population. More than likely, his garments were tailored or altered for him by family (possibly Adèle) back home in Albi, if not still while residing in Montmartre.
347 Frey, 1-2. 348 Frey, 1-2. 349 Frey, 327. 350 Frey, 328. 351 Frey, 2. 61 61
Quietly, his mother grew to have little patience for her son’s newfound déclassé identity, a product of bohemian Montmartre Paris.352 She would distance herself at times or seem unresponsive, which built resentment, if not fear, in the artist. Despite their mutual frustration and disagreements for each other, Adèle was always loyal to Henri unlike Alphonse.353 In turn, Henri never stopped all communications with his wealthy conservative pious aristocrat mother even though he lived a bohemian life in
Montmartre.354 Though he lived there, a predominately low income working class community; he lived a relatively opulent lifestyle.355 Regardless of his bohemianism and inexpensive studios, Henri still depended on the privilege of his aristocratic family to replenish his frequently drained funds via a private income allowance backed by two parents.356 These resources did not only support professional art endeavors, but also social ones, including dining, entertainment and travel—even extended vacations.357 Sometimes he would travel back home to the south of France when he wasn’t living up to his own expectations in the Montmartre quarters.358 His mother Adèle labeled his spontaneous habit to arrive home or return back to Paris, fagues (fleeing).359
His father Alphonse had the same response whenever he felt overwhelmed or pressured.360 Henri also seemed to inherit other father characteristics including: infantile
352 Frey, 1. 353 Frey, 6. 354 Frey, 6. 355 Frey, 216. 356 Frey, 216. 357 Frey, 216. 358 Frey, 216. 359 Frey, 216. 360 Frey, 216. 62 62 behaviors, extravagance, rebellion, theatrics, costumes, love of animals (horses specifically) and finally a dire necessity to draw and sketch and be the center of attention.361
Despite the presumed prejudice and discrimination one would expect him to face, Henri was quite successful if not popular socially.362 He had many friends and close acquaintances throughout his life fluxing from lighthearted pleasure to intense intimacy.363 His friends were like a surrogate family, carefully selected to accept his new identity, even though some of those friends were literal family, such as Cousin Gabriel
Tapié de Céleyran (1869-1930).364 Henri consistently socialized as a member surrounded by a group of friends who all met at an arranged destination, moving together as a body of one, similar to an entourage.365 Rarely, was he ever alone in a public setting.366
As early as the age of thirteen, personality traits found in his adulthood had already formed.367 Seemingly, Lautrec made the decision to not complain about his physical ailment openly, but consequently, his internal feelings found a way out.368 If his demands were not met, or his was challenged to the point of contradiction or compromise, he became a tyrant, a startling contrast to the wit, charm, pun, humor and lighthearted nature he showed others.369 Only his closest family, friends and lovers
361 Frey, 96-97. 362 Frey, 199. 363 Frey, 200. 364 Frey, 292. 365 Frey, 242. 366 Frey, 242. 367 Frey, 92. 368 Frey, 92. 369 Frey, 92; 435. 63 63 usually got a glimpse of this tyrannical side.370 This nature (even if almost hidden) was a signature characteristic of his personality throughout his life.371 Henri was very conscious of power and how to manipulate power struggles that existed around him.372
He was quite skilled at influencing and if necessary, manipulating others around him to fulfill his own agenda.373 Both men and women would fall prey to his charms and unfortunate tyranny if they did not submit to his psychological domination.374 In addition, he was able to succeed without relying on pity from others for his physical ailment.375 The artist was skilled at crafting his circle of friends as the ‘it’ group, creating interest by others to join.376 Seeing a physically challenged artist openly display his personality traits inspired others in the group to face their own unacceptability and limitations.377 This would only increase motivation in others to join his circle and fall prey to his charms.378
As early as the age of sixteen, Henri was becoming an impressive writer, recorded in the massive archive of private letters to family, friends, business associates and eventual lovers.379 His literary style reflects his years of aristocratic upbringing, formal education, bohemianism and conversational panache. He was also known for quick wit and pun in both conversation and writing and he lived by the principle of replacing self-
370 Frey, 92. 371 Frey, 92. 372 Frey, 285. 373 Frey, 285. 374 Frey, 285. 375 Frey, 285. 376 Frey, 285. 377 Frey, 285. 378 Frey, 285. 379 Frey, 113. 64 64 pity with self-deprecation, since it lead to humor, his chosen ‘ice-breaker’ in almost any human interaction.380 Notwithstanding, moody could be used to describe his intense and easily noticeable demeanor, since he could fluctuate from melancholy to hilarity or from hostility to tenderness in short periods of time.381 Referred to quite harshly as his only attractive physical feature, it was said that
“His black eyes shone furiously.”382 Henri himself was conscious of his physical shortcomings in comparison to the general population (fully developed men), relying on the striking impression his eyes made in the close proximity of others, especially women.383 It has been said his eyes were “such a dark brown that there was no difference in the color between the iris and the pupil,” which intensified his gaze.384 Interestingly, there seems to be no testimony from others that his eyes indicated any visible symptomology of pycnodysostosis. Utilizing his asset, the artist would often take off his pince-nez eyeglasses to gaze at a woman who interested him.385 More than likely, he wanted to give her a better look at his number one feature without obstruction. Moreover,
Henri’s eyes seemed to easily disclose his moods.386
His pince-nez eyeglasses, bowler hat and necessary cane were his accessory trademarks.387 His ability to present himself and others as caricature in art, along with
380 Frey, 94. 381 Frey, 3. 382 Frey, 272. 383 Frey, 3. 384 Frey, 3. 385 Frey, 3. 386 Frey, 3. 387 Frey, 7-8. 65 65 the rumor he had a hollow cane to hold a hidden vial of liquor to drink on the run, only added to his joie-de-vivre theatrical personality.388
Besides eccentric and tyrannical, additional adjectives to describe the artist’s personality include bawdy, cynical, decadent, defiant, destructive, dictatorial, excessive, flirtatious, gregarious, humorous, intense, lewd, punitive, sarcastic, scandalous, scathing, vulgar and witty.389
He was undeniably anti-intellectual, favoring the popular but racy circulations, such as Le Fin de Siècle (1891-1910) which focused on “erotic cartoons, gossip, political jokes, sexy anecdotes and discussions of fashionable events in Paris.”390
Henri greatly enjoyed the topic and conversation of sex, but kept it general, never with any intention of describing his own sexuality or encounters specifically.391 His vagueness on his sex life is despite the various sexually expletive caricatures (including nude photographs of himself in 1901) he left the viewer to consider forever.392 This private yet publicly exposed posture Henri held created a sexual mystique, accompanied by cynical and flippant attitudes all while he notably harbored a large penis in relation to his body proportion.393 A number of friends who saw him naked concluded he had macrogenitalism even though the condition is seen in pre-adolescence rather than adulthood,394 explaining why one friend Thadée Natanson (1868-1951) called the artist,
“a penis with legs.”395
388 Frey, 7. 389 Frey, 94-422. 390 Frey, 307. 391 Frey, 227. 392 Frey, 227 393 Frey, 379. 394 Frey, 379. 395 Frey, 379. 66 66
Henri regularly transferred his state of enthusiasm for one thing abruptly onto another (a temporary obsession) which ran its course to eventually move on to the next discovered obsession, a repetitious cycle he labeled his furias.396
Due to Paris’ new trend of masked balls in 19th century Europe, Henri dressed-up in costumes in the spirit of novelty (Figures 17, 19).397 Many others, including his friends, participated in costume regalia, which served as both entertainment and creativity, if not an expression of art itself.398 Photographs exist of the artist’s different Japanese, Arabic, Catholic, Spanish and working class personas.399 Even before his move to Paris or the Montmartre quarters, Henri played dress-up (even cross-dressed) as amusement for himself and others.400
In 1892, while attending one of many masked balls held at Le Moulin Rouge, the artist cross-dressed in a fur boa, feather-draped hat and checked cape accompanied by a friend (Figure 18).401. Women’s accessories such as hats, undergarments, jewelry, veils, muffs and perfumes intrigued the artist.402 Knowing his strong desire for the company of women in general and the objects that symbolized their identity, perhaps Henri found fetishistic gratification in costumes, especially cross-dressing. Seeing such objects in his natural environment could have ignited that desire, his desire, to dress-up. Having
Alphonse as a father (discussed later with fetishism), who displayed his own costume regalia back home in the Toulouse-Lautrec family, only helps to explain such inclinations.
396 Frey, 243. 397 Frey, 167. 398 Frey, 167. 399 Frey, 167. 400 Frey, 27. 401 Frey, 302. 402 Frey, 381. 67 67
Figure 17 - An Entertaining Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec dressed in Japanese Costume Regalia circa 1887 – Photograph (A notable Japonisme influence on his Art) (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
68 68
Figure 18 –A Theatrical Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec dressed in Woman's Attire as Costume Regalia circa 1892 - Photograph (Credit: Photographer Maurice Guibert 1856- 1913) (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
69 69
Figure 19 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec dressed in ‘Circus-Inspired’ Harlequin Costume Regalia circa Date Unknown - Photograph (Credit: Photographer Maurice Guibert 1856- 1913) (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
Henri drank the common 19th-century European spirit absinthe, known as La Fée
Verte (The Green Fairy) for its recognizable green color (or colorless).403 Absinthe was and still is a bitter, potent high distilled spirit with as much as 80 proof alcohol made from wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) along with various other botanicals, herbs and spices, especially anise.404
According to art historian Felicia Zavarella Stadelman, some scholars believe the artist is responsible for the “décor cocktail napkin,” an invention inspired by Henri’s before and after sketches of his drunken friends on such napkins found at parties.405
403 Doris Lanier, Absinthe, the Cocaine of the Nineteenth Century: a History of the Hallucinogenic Drug and Its Effect on Artists and Writers in Europe and the United States (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1995) 9. 404 Lanier, xi. 405 Felicia Zavarella Stadelman (April 23, 2019), https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RyqamSzwqHw). 70 70
Once the artist graduated from working in the atelier to his private home studio he often held cocktail parties.406 He received his friends in his own domain, as it bypassed the need to face the hills and obstacles of the Montmartre butte and Parisian winter months.407 Invariably, strangers would appear at his parties for free drinks and the spectacle of Henri’s presence along with his art.408 There are accounts that some of the random attendees were not friends or supportive strangers at all, instead, they mocked and ridiculed the artist from a distance.409 Unfeigned, Henri’s parties lasted for years and were sometimes weekly.410
The artist’s studio was described by one friend as messy and dirty with a huge fifteenth-century oak coffer chest, dumb-bells, costumes and the expected art supplies with nearly no place to sit.411 With all things considered, the presence of dumb-bells points to a possible interest to strengthen his arms.412 Two stools, a divan sofa and a couple of stiff upright chairs were the small furniture pieces scattered throughout his space.413 Like all of his studios, Henri slept on the floor (possible health reason) with a single mattress, accessorized with items bought at London’s famous Liberty shop.414 A bearskin (throw or rug) stood in place of a comforter quilt.415 There were two opposing tables placed at each end of the room.416 One was a café table with wrought-iron legs
406 Frey, 199. 407 Frey, 199. 408 Frey, 199. 409 Frey 199. 410 Frey, 199. 411 Frey, 6. 412 Frey, 6. 413 Frey, 6. 414 Frey, 7. 415 Frey, 7. 416 Frey, 7. 71 71 and a marbled top near his easels.417 On it was a cluttered accumulation of various and curious objects.418 There were empty drinking glasses, dried-up paint cups, photographs and reproductions of classic artworks along with a Japanese wig, a ballet slipper, a woman’s high-buttoned shoe and a score to a popular song.419 Some of these theatric items were possible props for still-life.
The other table, a long one near the door, was assembled as a cocktail bar.420 It was full of a collection of disordered liquor bottles along with heavy drinking glasses snatched from a local bar downstairs around the corner.421 Sometimes, he would go back to each finished bottle and pour remaining settled drips of alcohol in one of the heavy glasses, taking a final shot of each bottle’s remaining nectar.422 One might say his studio exemplified the quintessential bachelor’s pad, “whose dust and disorder had taken on mythical proportions.”423
Like an official atelier, his studio had a platform for models to settle onto as they posed.424 A stepladder was present to access high and large canvases.425 At times in his studio, it was possible to find empty walls and easels with no work in progress giving a look of abandonment.426 Cartoons, boxes and lithographic stones could be stacked
417 Frey, 7. 418 Frey, 7. 419 Frey, 7. 420 Frey, 7. 421 Frey, 7. 422 Frey, 7. 423 Frey, 350. 424 Frey, 7. 425 Frey, 7. 426 Frey, 7. 72 72 around or lay on the floor as paintings leaned against the studio walls in orderly fashion displaying only the backs of canvases.427
Adding to his eccentric personality, the artist developed the habit of completely dozing off in public (alcoholism, stages of syphilis or both).428 Collections of photographs document this behavior.
427 Frey, 7. 428 Frey, 179.
CHAPTER 3: ART CRITIQUE & ARGUMENTS
Toulouse-Lautrec: Movement and Transformations with Everything Anew The aristocrat found his refuge in Montmartre Paris. In this bohemian society, everything was anew. He began to form new human relations in a new environment which established a new lifestyle leading to a new art. Consequently, Montmartre remained the headquarters of his new art and lifestyle until his early demise. Eventually, through a progressive movement between two social classes, the born and raised nobleman transformed from aristocrat to bohemian as he paralleled himself with the social outcast, which validated his own outcast experience. In this déclassé movement from higher to lower class, Toulouse-Lautrec, ironically found a new freedom in the acceptance Bohemia had to offer. These movements and transformations that took place in Montmartre directly influenced Toulouse-Lautrec’s own identity. This new identity unquestionably transformed his art.
The 19th-century noble lady had been replaced with the bohemian demimonde class of women who were art models, adult entertainers, working prostitutes, open lesbians or any other possible combination of these distinct identities. The noble gentleman was replaced with the bohemian male entertainer, anarchist and homosexual with possible combined identities as well. The natural lit outdoor landscape commonly painted en-plein-aire was replaced with the exotic indoor evening landscape of bars, brothels and nightclubs. An interior landscape lit up with electric modern light.
The respectable subject matter that was once expected of him by the aristocracy and bourgeoisie was now unexpectedly replaced with a questionable bohemian figure or environment or lifestyle. Naturally, this act would have been seen as an unexpected disrespect to the establishment, including to the well-known Toulouse-Lautrec family name. But there was obviously a deeper motive beyond social class or respect that drove 74 74
Toulouse-Lautrec to forgo aristocracy when he moved his entire life to Montmartre to become a bohemian artist. For many, such as his aristocratic parents Adèle and Alphonse, the move to Montmartre would not have been wise, if one was in pursuit of 19th-century success and respect as a noble artist. After all, Montmartre itself was socially marginalized by the rest of Paris for its bohemianism and in turn was physically ostracized as it sat on a separate hill somewhat isolated from the main city. To the establishment, such as the aristocracy, Montmartre was a part of 19th-century society that was not of the respectable whole.
But for Toulouse-Lautrec, the deeper motive was truly an act of defiance. It was an act to abandon and betray the very establishment. This is how he negated his illegitimacy. This is also how he found the social class and respect that he was missing by identifying with and joining the 19th-century social class that accepted and included him despite his physical ailment, which were the bohemians. By defiantly becoming a bohemian as a rejected aristocrat, it gave him the motive to abandon and betray the standards and expectations of the establishment in his art—which he did. This was punishment for their own acts of abandonment and betrayal. This is how the social outcast becomes the art subject matter of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec during the 19th century, regardless of class structure, noble privilege or respectable society.
Toulouse-Lautrec: Validating His Own Outcast Experience through his Art Now it is relevant to review an example of specific artworks and their subject matter that resulted from the new relations Toulouse-Lautrec held with the bohemian outcasts living in Montmartre Paris. These individuals with their own identities and life experience became the subject matter of his art because they validated him through inclusion and acceptance as a fellow outcast. Now his avant-garde art and style defiantly abandoned and betrayed his own previous social class and identity as he paralleled 75 75 himself with the social outcasts of Montmartre. And even though quite unexpected, it was all possible since such new relations along with a new social class, new identity, new environment and new lifestyle leads to a new art.
The Demimonde Model, Entertainer, Prostitute and Lesbian Woman as Fellow Outcast In the 19th century, a demimonde was “a class of woman on the fringes of respectable society” who often relied on various means to survive, such as by the support of wealthy lovers.429 These lovers could have been men, women or both. The first use of the term demimonde was circa 1855.430 A woman who belongs to this group of women is called a demi-mondaine.431
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Relation with La Goulue: Queen of Montmartre Adult entertainer Louise Weber (1870-1929) (Figure 20), known by her stage name La Goulue which translates to mean The Glutton, began her fame at Le Moulin de la Galette even before her more famous presence at Le Moulin Rouge.432 She danced such routines as multiple versions of the quadrille and the cancan as an adult entertainer.433 The cancan was danced by women “characterized by high kicking usually while holding up the front of a full ruffled skirt.”434 The quadrille dance also included the chahut, a part of the dance where there is also a high-kicking routine, similar to what
429 Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary Since 1828, last updated February 11, 2020, accessed March 30, 2020, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demimonde. 430 Merriam-Webster, demimonde. 431 Merriam-Webster, demimondaine. 432 Frey, 189. 433 Frey, 189-93. 434 Merriam-Webster, cancan. 76 76 is seen in the cancan.435 La Goulue was known for both these dances, among other dance routines and visual displays of outrageous acts. For instance, she was known for parading around the room during performance, finishing off patron’s drinks sitting on tables and kicking the top hats off male patrons’ heads as she performed.436 She was known for her signature neck ribbon and chignon hairstyle tightly secured on top of her head, like a bun, imitated by other Parisian demimonde women.437 Her adult entertainment led up to grand finales, where she flipped her skirt to show her lacy bloomers; revealed yards of lace petticoats; or did the leg splits to the ground.438 Toulouse-Lautrec met her in these cabaret environments, became her friend and used her as his art model and subject.439
According to Stadelman, the dancer, in her own words, was a part-time prostitute.440 La
Goulue’s fame and reputation was well known in Montmartre and throughout Paris.441
This was because she was known to try anything, have a voracious appetite, be audacious, be provocative, be arrogant and be vulgar.442 To Toulouse-Lautrec, she embodied spectacle which he loved in others and because of it, he essentially made her a legend through his art.443 She was also the main figure in Toulouse-Lautrec’s color lithograph poster, Moulin Rouge, La Goulue (1891) (Figure 5) which greatly catapulted his art career.
435 Frey, 189. 436 Frey, 190-92. 437 Frey, 190-91. 438 Frey, 191-92. 439 Frey, 192. 440 Stadelman, TTEOTA Lecture. 441 Frey, 192. 442 Frey, 190-92. 443 Frey, 192. 77 77
Figure 20 - La Goulue (Louise Weber) circa 1885 - Photograph (No Copyright/PD-old) commons.wikimedia.org
La Goulue at the Moulin Rouge (1892) (Figure 21) by Toulouse-Lautrec successfully captures the flagrant personality and lifestyle of the adult entertainer.444 The medium is oil on cardboard. The cabaret dancer is accompanied by her two female intimates as she looks out to the viewer. The general scene is La Goulue arriving to Le
Moulin Rouge and entering its indoor landscape. There is also a gentleman seen in the background wearing a top hat obviously present to take in what the cabaret has to offer.
There looks to be distant windows or mirrors reflecting the images within. Toulouse-
444 “MoMA,” MoMA, accessed May 3, 2020, https://www.moma.org/collection/works/34936#
78 78
Lautrec utilizes a strong use of atmospheric perspective to create depth and distance separating the man from the women with respect to background and foreground. There looks to be a lamp or light fixture hanging or mounted between the man and the three women working as visual division as well. In the front of the composition, center stage, the viewer gets a full frontal view of La Goulue. Toulouse-Lautrec depicts her with her neck ribbon and chignon hairstyle, an unquestionable identification of her. Toulouse-
Lautrec gives the dancer a facial expression that only her reputation can hold: haughtiness as if irritated by the viewer’s capture of her arrogant arrival. The other emotionless figures seem to only cater to her dominant presence. All other figures pale in comparison to La Goulue—and not just for her fame or placement in the composition— but for the exotic dress she is wearing. It is extremely risqué with its painterly whitish fabric having what looks to be transparent qualities. La Goulue’s dress with its sharp and deep V-cut décolleté neckline leaves little to the imagination and only adds more eroticism to the opaque fabric. Her bosom is partially exposed with flesh while the viewer is left to view the rest via the opaque garment. She seems to be wearing just a hint of jewelry and what looks to be a broach of greenery on her lapel as if to attempt some demureness.
When it comes to the relation La Goulue held with Toulouse-Lautrec and what it represented it really comes down to her unapologetic role as spectacle. Her spectacle becomes his parallel, since nobody knew more than Toulouse-Lautrec what it meant to be a spectacle in the presence of others. Whether it was her entertaining dance and personality, or her modeling for art and nude photography (Figure 20), or her lesbianism and prostitution, La Goulue had the power to even surpass the spectacle of Toulouse-
Lautrec. In this respect, Toulouse-Lautrec reasonably felt normal when she was around, since most eyes were undoubtedly fixated on her spectacle, rather than his own. Even though such a moment in time would be temporary for the artist, it more than likely gave 79 79 him a sense of escape from his physical ailment in the form of mental and emotional relief. It would also help explain his dedication to Montmartre, where individuals who fulfilled the same role of spectacle similar to La Goulue were everyday occurrences.
Figure 21 - La Goulue at the Moulin Rouge circa 1892 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec – Oil on Cardboard (No Copyright/PD-old) commons.wikimedia.org
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Relation with Jane Avril: La Mélénite Another adult entertainer that Toulouse-Lautrec paralleled himself with was Jane
Avril (1868-1943) also known as “La Mélénite” which translates to mean The Explosive, who danced her version of the cancan at Le Moulin Rouge.445 Avril had her own
445 Frey, 272. 80 80 reputation, more juxtaposed than La Goulue’s, with an almost innocent if not virtuous aura, but still seductive, very opposite to The Glutton.446 It was stated by the British artist
William Rothenstein that Jane Avril was, “A single attractive figure…a wild Botticelli- like creature, perverse but intelligent.”447 Other observations were that Avril had certain “madness for dancing” leading her to keep “strange company” and that she was exotic and excitable, with “the beauty of a fallen angel.”448 Hence, her stage name La Mélénite
(The Explosive). Other descriptions labeled the dancer: graceful, delicate, wondrous, original, instinctual, artistic, agile, and elegant in movement and technique.449 Avril also danced the quadrille, giving impressions of girlish youth, igniting provocation as a prude with modesty even though she displayed a “décolleté nearly to her waist.”450
Undoubtedly, she gave her own explosive high kicks in the dances she performed.
Finally, patrons could sense a “depraved virginity” in Avril reflected through her dance and persona throughout Montmartre.451 All of these qualities are what “set her apart from most of the dancers on the nightclub circuit.”452 Jane Avril was also a demi-mondaine woman of the time fulfilling the role of adult entertainer and art model with rumors of lesbianism.453 In addition, it has been documented she grew up in a broken family with dysfunction and abuse, “forced into prostitution by an alcoholic mother.”454
446 Frey, 272. 447 Frey, 272. 448 Frey, 272. 449 Frey, 272. 450 Frey, 272. 451 Frey, 272-73. 452 Frey, 324. 453 Frey, 272-73. 454 Frey, 348. 81 81
Apparently, Toulouse-Lautrec at one time wanted more with the dancer than just friendship, quoted as asking her, “to go to bed with him.”455 At the time, Avril was noted as being “the official mistress of someone else and was the subject of many men’s fantasies” but still it is said she obliged Toulouse-Lautrec “just once” and slept with him for the sake of friendship.456 Throughout his art career, he used her as model and subject for multiple artworks like La Goulue. Toulouse-Lautrec presented La Mélénite in his compositions with her signature style, including her plume feathered hats she was famously known for as an adult entertainer.457
One of Toulouse-Lautrec’s most seductive color lithograph posters is Jane Avril
(1899) where the dancer is sinisterly posed with a snake wrapped around her waist in a very art nouveau style (Figure 22). Consequently, the same imagery can be seen in an actual dress worn by her in 1890, memorialized in a black and white photograph taken by
Paul Sescau (1858-1926) (Figure 23). The image in Toulouse-Lautrec’s poster directs the viewer to recall the biblical account of Temptation, where Eve in the Garden of Eden encounters the Serpent; but this time, the serpent is obviously wrapped around the female figure rather than the Tree of Knowledge.458 Toulouse-Lautrec’s color lithographic poster brings Avril to life with vibrant color and dramatic pose. The poster’s palate uses red as a power color to represent her entire tall plume feathered hat and the bottom of her dress, nicely balancing the composition. The hat and bottom skirt with their solid isolated colors succinctly reflects the inspiration, style and technique of Japanese woodblock prints. Red is also used to fill in the collar and cuffs of the dress. The main body of the dress is solid black and it also creates another major block of color in the composition.
455 Frey, 273. 456 Frey, 273. 457 Frey, 316. 458 Genesis 3:1-24 (KJV) 82 82
Figure 22 - Jane Avril circa 1899 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Color Lithograph Poster (No Copyright/PD-old) commons.wikimedia.org
83 83
Figure 23 - Jane Avril circa 1890 - Photograph by Paul Sescau (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
84 84
The serpent itself is predominately two-toned in its representation of colors. The serpent’s head and tail are yellow while the main body is a faint blue. Red color just fills in the eye and dots the head. Intriguingly, the serpent’s two colors progressively bleed into each other similar to a graduated ombre of color tone. As if looking at the face of Avril, the serpent’s body slithers up the dancer’s own body, wrapped around her hips and waist. The use of both black and red color seems appropriate for this sinister dress worn by La Mélénite, since it is visually explosive in its color palate and its serpentine subject matter. Toulouse-Lautrec sets off Avril in her vibrant one-of-a-kind outfit by keeping the background a neutral earth tone. The background color also seems to play the role of the dancer’s flesh tone, such as her face and hands, which are simply carved out of the composition by means of black outline. Black is also used to outline the entire adult entertainer in dress and hat. The poster shows the same pose held by Avril in the black and white photograph of 1890. Her hands are in the air, framing her face, looking out to the viewer as if suspended in dance. Toulouse-Lautrec prints her name in large black text to make sure it gets associated with her signature image. The artist dates and marks his poster with his self-invented HTL Remarque signature stamp, enclosed in a circle found in the lower right corner. These signature stamps came from Japanese influence and were popular with modern artists of the time.459
Jane Avril, similar to La Goulue, added her own contribution to spectacle in Toulouse-Lautrec’s life. The accusation that the dancer kept strange company is also a parallel to Toulouse-Lautrec’s own role as strange company, since his physical ailment and all its conditions—including his visibly short stature—would qualify as strange to others living in the 19th century. In Montmartre, women who were also marginalized and ostracized became approachable and attainable for Toulouse-Lautrec, since their identity
459 Frey, 401. 85 85 and life experience paralleled his own in the overall establishment. Avril seen as a Fallen
Angel is a relevant parallel to Toulouse-Lautrec’s own fallen aristocracy via his déclassé transfer from higher to lower class. Even though she was an outcast, she (and women like her) offered the attention and affection he so desired which was undoubtedly denied him by conventional society prior to Montmartre.
Female entertainers such as Yvette Guilbert (1865-1944), who spoke monologues
(La Diseuse), lesbian lovers May Milton and May Belfort (1870-1960) and female clown Cha-U-Kao (La Clownesse) are honorable mentions found in his art subject as well.460
They were four more demimonde women the artist paralleled himself with as a bohemian outcast living in Montmartre.
The Male Anarchist, Entertainer and Homosexual as Fellow Outcast According to Merriam-Webster, an anarchist is “any individual who rebels against any authority figureheads, established orders, or ruling powers.”461 In addition, any sub-group or individual of society whose natural identity challenges the established order could also be seen as a social anarchist, such as a prostitute or homosexual. Such individuals were easily found within the confines of Montmartre and even other parts of
Europe in the 19th century.
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Relation with Aristide Bruant: La Trumpet Aristide Bruant (1851-1925) was an anarchist and lifelong friend of Toulouse-
Lautrec’s in Montmartre.462 He was also the owner of Le Mirliton (toy whistle) a cabaret
460 Frey, 308; 382-418. 461 Merriam-Webster, anarchist. 462 Frey, 184;338. 86 86 located in the bohemian quarters.463 He also wrote the lyrics and sang the songs he performed in his own cabaret.464 He was known to have a powerful, bold voice which could be heard a great distance without the help of an amplifier, as one army soldier described, “You would think he had swallowed a trumpet.”465 Bruant was not originally from Paris.466 When he was younger, he worked an eclectic collection of service jobs that allowed him to support his family as an adolescent.467 Later, he served in the army before pursuing his final role as cabaret owner, songwriter, singer and performer at Le Mirliton.468 Bruant’s life experiences always seemed to relate more to the working class milieu.469
The theme of the anarchist’s cabaret was to intentionally counter attack the other cabarets that came before it like the more stringent Le Chat Noir with its Louis XIII chiseled ornate period wood furniture.470 Le Mirliton was staged to cater to the unpretentiousness of an earthy working class with a more rustic and raw atmosphere which contradicted the expected refinement and propriety of the 19th century.471
The songs Bruant performed in his cabaret were to proclaim the social injustices he believed oppressed the impoverished (the forgotten of society), leading to destruction against their will.472 Such conditions were usually blamed on the social upper classes,
463 Frey, 183. 464 Frey, 183 465 Frey, 184. 466 Frey, 184. 467 Frey, 184. 468 Frey, 184. 469 Frey 183-84. 470 Frey, 183. 471 Frey, 183. 472 Frey, 184. 87 87 especially the imperialistic governing aristocracies of Paris, Europe or elsewhere.473
Even though his songs and performances often included wit, charm, humor, jokes and lighthearted banter, the overall message delivered was a defense for the oppressed and a call to action against those who oppressed them.474 Like Montmartre itself, he was bohemian and avant-garde in every manner— including attire (Figure 24).475 Bruant dressed very chic, wearing outfits that emulated costumes, an eccentric behavior Toulouse-Lautrec enjoyed himself, giving the two bohemians something in common.476 Along with forever face stubble, Bruant was seen walking the streets with “a wide-brimmed black hat, red flannel shirt, black corduroy jacket and trousers and heavy sewer-cleaner’s boots.”477 To amplify his look when he went out, he included “a black cape and a red woolen muffler, draped over one shoulder.”478
The anarchist would hang Toulouse-Lautrec’s drawings and paintings on the wall of Le Mirliton, a cabaret with a clientele that followed and recognized the artist.479
Toulouse-Lautrec admired Bruant for his commitment to social justice and for his songs and vocal performances which courageously shared his anarchist grievances with the world.480 It’s also possible Toulouse-Lautrec admired Bruant for the anarchist’s ability to embody the traditional male role and characteristics the artist was unable to achieve.481
473 Frey, 184. 474 Frey, 183-87. 475 Frey, 184. 476 Frey, 184. 477 Frey, 184. 478 Frey, 184. 479 Frey, 219. 480 Frey, 183-87. 481 Frey, 184. 88 88
He was one of the artist’s taller male friends adding to his overall magnificent macho presence in addition to his commanding voice and revolutionary dominant persona.482
Figure 24 - Aristide Bruant circa 1886 - Photograph (Source: Julia Frey, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, BB art 1999, s. 183 /No Copyright/PD-old) commons.wikimedia.org
After discovering Bruant and his cabaret, Toulouse-Lautrec became a regular.483
Bruant seemed to like Toulouse-Lautrec and was pleased to see Le Mirliton as a subject matter in his new friend’s art.484 Bruant would also make it a point to publicly
482 Frey, 182.84. 483 Frey, 186. 484 Frey, 187. 89 89 acknowledge Toulouse-Lautrec when the artist entered his cabaret, even if the anarchist was on stage in the middle of a performance.485 Bruant published and sold his own magazine Le Mirliton (Figure 25) at the cabaret often showcasing the very artists and writers who frequented his establishment.486 The anarchist eventually included Toulouse-Lautrec on the cover of his magazine in the 29 December 1886 publication of
Le Mirliton, showcasing one of the artist’s illustrations.487
Figure 25 - Le Mirliton, weekly Edited by Aristide Bruant, n 102, March 24, 1893 (Drawing by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, Text of the Song A la place Maubert by Aristide Bruant) (Author: Théophile Steinlin 1859-1923/Source: Gallica Digital Library) (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
Bruant and his cabaret quickly became a popular symbolic icon in Montmartre.488
There were many historical events to consider which buttressed the anarchist’s success as
485 Frey, 187. 486 Frey, 187. 487 Frey, 187. 488 Frey, 184. 90 90 a singer, songwriter and performer at Le Mirliton.489 Historical events such as the new
Paris under the plan and vision of Haussmann and Napoleon III were examples of the oppression Bruant used to proclaim and fuel his anarchy against the oppressors of society.490 Since, Montmartre itself was the ultimate Parisian outcast community during the modern gentrification and zoning of the new Paris. Over time, Aristide Bruant’s songs and their words rang in the ears of Toulouse-Lautrec and the Montmartre community indefinitely. Toulouse-Lautrec captured the chic bohemian look of the anarchist in colored lithograph posters, such as in Aristide Bruant at His Cabaret (1893) (Figure 26).
Toulouse-Lautrec shows the anarchist from behind. He is in black cape, red woolen muffler (draped over shoulder) and wide brimmed black hat. The cape is an enormous block of black saturated color, dominating the muffler and hat’s presence in the composition. Bruant’s neutral hair color is surrounded by the bold black and red colors. The anarchist looks to hold a cane in his black gloved hand. The cabaret owner’s face holds a sternly confident expression as he looks over his shoulder and beyond the edge of the composition. Pursed lips and a strong raised black eyebrow intensify the anarchist’s mood. Once again, Toulouse-Lautrec leaves the background quite empty and neutral, which forces the viewer to focus solely on the anarchist. Toulouse-Lautrec offers his name to the viewer by stylistically printing it in light text immediately over the dark cape in the front of the composition. The artist looks to use an olive green color as outline rather than black, adding more interest to the overall style and imagery of the poster. This time he marked his art in the lower left corner of the composition with his Remarque signature stamp.
489 Frey, 184-85. 490 Frey, 184-87. 91 91
Figure 26 – Aristide Bruant dans son Cabaret circa 1893 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec – Color Lithograph Poster (Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain/No Copyright) commons.wikimedia.org
92 92
To Toulouse-Lautrec, the cabaret owner and anarchist exemplified what it meant to be a bohemian and abandon all ties to the establishment. Toulouse-Lautrec admired (if not envied!) Bruant for his rejection of this very world the artist came from that marginalized and ostracized him. Bruant also held qualities, such as physical strength, height and size—and yet—he was still seen as a social outcast, a reality which must have comforted the artist’s own physical short-comings in Montmartre. Bruant would acknowledge Toulouse-Lautrec publicly—even stop what his was doing— in order to announce the artist’s entrance. This was a radical acceptance denied if non-existent to
Toulouse-Lautrec in his previous life before Montmartre. Aristide Bruant fulfilled the role as Bohemian Hero to Toulouse-Lautrec, and by paralleling himself with the anarchist, he too, could reap the rewards of the cabaret owner’s male heroic role against the enemy—the establishment. This is how Bruant becomes model and subject in
Toulouse-Lautrec’s art.
Toulouse-Lautrec’s Relation with Oscar Wilde: A Fellow Aristocrat’s fall from Grace Oscar Wilde (1856-1900) was an Irish poet and playwright who resided in Britain
(Figure 27). Among his various travels and interests, he would take “frequent trips to
Paris with his lover Lord Alfred Douglas.”491 The Moulin Rouge in Montmartre was also a destination for Wilde and his royal lover while in Paris492 As a homosexual living in the 19th century, Wilde became the center of European scandal when he was brought up on charges for sodomy in April 1895.493 By 1898, Oscar Wilde was living in Paris permanently, incognito, under the alias name Sebastian Melmoth.494 For the British,
491 Frey, 383. 492 Frey, 383. 493 Frey, 383. 494 Frey, 383. 93 93
Paris was seen as the epicenter of debauchery, as they believed themselves to be more upstanding as compared to the French.495 This cultural belief only ignited more public scandal and attention to Wilde’s public trial, since it questioned the overall decency of
Britain itself.496
Figure 27 - Oscar Wilde circa 1882 – Photograph (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
495 Frey, 383. 496 Frey, 383. 94 94
The rumor is that Toulouse-Lautrec attended Wilde’s public trial or at the very least knew the accused writer, but there is no evidence to verify such claim.497 Others claimed that Toulouse-Lautrec asked Wilde to “sit for a portrait” but that he refused, leaving the artist to work “from photographs or from memory.”498 The artist Ricardo Opisso (1880-1966) created multiple art compositions depicting Toulouse-Lautrec’s unmistakable image with Oscar Wilde and other third parties. This is despite the lack of concrete evidence the French artist and Irish writer ever met. It could be Opisso was making his own parallel between Toulouse-Lautrec and Wilde, placing their reputations in the same composition, since they both independently represented 19th-century scandal so well. To add to his alleged fascination with Wilde, Toulouse-Lautrec would have known about Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (Figure 28), which was translated into French sometime between1891 to 1896.499 It’s a tale about beauty, youth, choice, decadence and consequence all surrounding a portrait of a man in a painting, many topics Toulouse-Lautrec would have found of interest if not personal. In addition to their risqué and decadent lifestyles, Frey points out, both noble men represented “the degenerate offspring of an otherwise respectable family.”500
Oscar Wilde is the most blatantly obvious parallel for Toulouse-Lautrec since
Wilde’s public scandal is essentially an aristocrat’s fall from grace, quite similar to
Toulouse-Lautrec, minus the courts and homosexuality. As Frey points out, Toulouse- Lautrec “was Wilde’s parallel in scandalousness…and both felt they were outcasts in their own societies.”501 Where Wilde was publically punished for an intimate physical
497 Frey, 383. 498 Frey, 383. 499 Frey, 419. 500 Frey, 383. 501 Frey, 384. 95 95
Figure 28 - A Picture of the Cover of the July, 1890 Edition of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, where "The Picture of Dorian Gray" was first published (also simultaneously published in London) (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org act that was private, Toulouse-Lautrec was punished for his physical ailment by the public, which punished him privately on an intimate level. Wilde was eventually found guilty on grounds of inappropriate homosexual relations and convicted.502 After his public trial and sentence served, he died in Paris on November 30, 1900, even before the early demise of Toulouse-Lautrec.503
The artist painted Oscar Wilde (1895) in vibrant blue-green turquoise tuxedo jacket with black lapel, bowtie and white shirt (Figure 29) the same year the poet and playwright was charged for sodomy. The medium is watercolor on cardboard. Whether
502 Frey, 412. 503 Frey, 478. 96 96 the stylized portraiture is painted from personal relation, photography or memory,
Toulouse-Lautrec does not seem to deny Wilde his formal reputation as a gentleman and writer living in the 19th century. Wilde is highly caricatured in true form to Toulouse-
Lautrec’s style and technique. The identification of Wilde is not lost in Toulouse- Lautrec’s caricature of the Irish writer. The portrait captures the physical traits of Wilde’s face, especially his eyes and lips, quick indicators to the viewer the image is that of the charged homosexual. The overall portrait gives the viewer an impression of an upstanding noble man, not necessarily of a disgraced individual, despite his current charge. Wilde’s rich blonde hair almost blends into the faint golden landscape of London, with Big Ben in the distant background. The composition shows its Impressionist and
Japanese woodblock influences, with painterly strokes and defined blocks of color respectively. Toulouse-Lautrec utilizes an avant-garde modernism, portraying the torso of
Wilde with his arms and hands off the picture plane. Toulouse-Lautrec uses black to outline Wilde’s body and to create shadow underneath his arm. The artist signs his work in black stylized signature on the tuxedo jacket Wilde is wearing.
Toulouse-Lautrec’s choice to create the portrait the exact same year Wilde was charged shows his drive to relate to the writer, not despite his charge, but because of it, since it validates his own subsequent fall from grace as an aristocrat from the south of
France, now living in bohemian Montmartre with outcasts. This parallel is what qualifies Wilde to be Toulouse-Lautrec’s model and subject in his art. The fact that Wilde is
British, homosexual and a possible stranger, becomes irrelevant, since for Toulouse-
Lautrec, the writer’s identity and life experience, now legitimizes his own.
97 97
Figure 29 - Oscar Wilde circa 1895 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - Watercolor on Cardboard (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
The artist also included in his subject matter the French playwright Tristan
Bernard (1866-1947) who was a journalist and comic writer for La Revue Blanche magazine as well as the art critic Félix Fénéon (1861-1944) who was found guilty of committing Paris bombings in the 19th century.504 They were two more anarchists the artist paralleled himself with as a bohemian outcast living in Montmartre.
504 Frey, 352; 387.
CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION
Aristocracy vs. Bohemianism: How a Déclassé Drop in Social Class Made Sense for Toulouse-Lautrec By the time Toulouse-Lautrec was introduced to the Montmartre quarters, he had already concluded he would never live a normal life due to his physical ailment. To buffer that assertion, he knew very well that both his parents and many of his extended family members also agreed, whether they spoke of it or not. Every action and reaction that took place by him and his family before his discovery of Montmartre was a pursuit of normalcy. It was to seek out the same goals as others to live a normal life as much as possible despite his physical ailment. But that was a futile attempt. Since no matter what the artist or his family attempted, his physical ailment prevailed. Hence, there was no discovered cure for his physical ailment, only management. Its existence influenced the way he and others viewed himself. It also influenced what he and others believed he could become and experience in life, much of which would likely fall short of normalcy.
There was nothing normal about Montmartre. This is essentially what gave
Montmartre its vital value to Toulouse-Lautrec. Separate from it being an art colony for the avant-garde artist, it fulfilled even a much greater function for Toulouse-Lautrec. It allotted a population and environment where his physical ailment was no longer the center of attention in his life or for others. The existence of his physical ailment diminished and became lost in the lighted glitz, cabaret glamour and belle époque festivities of Montmartre. The controversial and provocative atmosphere present in the
Montmartre environment ultimately acted as a distraction from any sense of normalcy. It was essentially off-the-grid in regard to normal lifestyles in the 19th century. It was a society accessible to Toulouse-Lautrec once he moved to Paris. He found it was comprised of individuals who brought their own déclassé stories to tell collectively in the quarters. In a curious way, many of Montmartre’s residents had their own condition (even 99 99 if not physical) that also prevented them from any sense of a normal life in the establishment.
This is why it made sense for Toulouse-Lautrec to take a drop in social class, even if it was considered déclassé, since his physical ailment was always going to prevent him from living a normal life as an aristocrat or any class inside the establishment. These established social classes came with standards and expectations that the artist simply could not meet and live up to due to his physical ailment. Toulouse-Lautrec’s decision to join Montmartre and become one of the bohemians was a very personal one and directly specific to his physical ailment and its cause and effect. Montmartre was an environment filled with individuals who had more in common with him (even if just symbolically) than that of the establishment. He had already been born and raised in French aristocracy, experienced quite a bit of its privilege, could easily predict the forecast of his aristocratic future as a French nobleman, and yet, he chose to exit such known lineage to enter the unknown of bohemianism. There was a deeper motive and intent that drove such a decision. But of course that decision was directly contingent on the impossibility of being seen as a legitimate member of the class structure altogether.
Bohemian Society: What it really represented for Toulouse- Lautrec Bohemia represented freedom. It represented freedom from his past, his memories and the Toulouse-Lautrec family living in the south of France. Bohemia also represented his freedom to finally make choices for himself, while he managed his own physical ailment. Bohemia represented escape. It represented escape from aristocracy, its tradition, standards and expectations. It also represented the escape from any sense of normalcy, which caused continual disappointment for both the artist and his family. 100 100
Bohemia represented independence. It represented independence from an over- protective mother as well as the constant supervision from others who placed restrictions on his movements as they made systematic decisions for him.
Bohemia represented opportunity. The opportunity to reinvent himself by creating the art he wanted while living the lifestyle he so desired so he could experience that which he hadn’t experienced thus far.
Bohemia represented privacy. It represented the privacy to pursue that which was frowned upon and not available prior to the discovery of Montmartre. Bohemia represented the ability to experience all things forbidden: adult entertainment, women, sex, and experimentation with substances like alcohol in the isolated privacy of
Montmartre.
Bohemia represented empowerment. It represented the empowerment to create art with little to no restrictions, while giving little concern for what others thought, including the establishment. It represented the empowerment to live an alternative lifestyle with the right to do what, when, where, how you wanted with whom you wanted, no matter what.
Bohemia represented hope. It represented the hope one could live in a world where no one cared you were different, had a condition, even a physical ailment. It represented the hope one could finally find true happiness as a successful artist despite the lack of normalcy. It represented the hope that all the pain and suffering was worth it, that this is what it was all for, to get to this place—Montmartre.
Toulouse-Lautrec: An Artist Paralleling Himself with the Social Outcast The class structure of 19th century European society that naturally marginalized and ostracized Toulouse-Lautrec was neutralized if not extinguished altogether in
Montmartre. His physical ailment—a visible height of obvious short stature juxtaposed to his noble privilege—was not viewed as a freak of nature in the quarters as it was in the 101 101 establishment. Ultimately, his physical ailment had a different effect in Montmartre. In
Montmartre, Toulouse-Lautrec was not refused the opportunity to be seen as a legitimate member of bohemian society, since there were no standards and expectations of normalcy that the artist had to meet and live up to that would cause his physical ailment to become a factor. This in turn meant he did not face an ostracized experience in Montmartre as a social outcast, since the entire community was comprised of outcasts. This is what caused him to find refuge in the bohemian society of Montmartre Paris. It’s where he paralleled his life experience with the 19th-century social outcast who unmistakably became his new subject matter in his new avant-garde art. It’s his move to Montmartre, the outcast as subject matter and his avant-garde art that created his artistic legacy as we know it today.
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARIES & CONCLUSION
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Physical Ailment’s Psychological and Behavioral Impact Toulouse-Lautrec abandoned and betrayed the very establishment that marginalized and ostracized him by becoming a bohemian outside the class structure altogether. This was punishment for their own acts of abandonment and betrayal.
Therefore, now it is time to analyze the physical ailment’s psychological and behavioral impact on him and others. First the impact it had on himself. Next the impact it had on his parents Alphonse and Adèle, including the rest of the family. Then the impact it held with the demimonde women and male anarchists as social outcasts of the time. It’s time to analyze his vengeful acts of defiance, such as his public displays of nudity and defecation captured in photography in the late 1890s. In addition, his alcoholism and contraction of
Syphilis that led up to his death quite early in his thirties. Finally, to analyze how his physical ailment’s impact played a role in all of these decisions and events as he paralleled himself with the social outcast in Montmartre.
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Psychological and Behavioral Impact of his Physical Ailment on Himself
I will always be a thoroughbred hitched up to a rubbish cart.—Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec505
As an individual, Toulouse-Lautrec was very much “the other” living in 19th- century aristocracy. Even though he had many relatives who also suffered from ailments due to genetic inbreeding, he was arguably intellectually brilliant and artistically gifted within his own family. His duly noted mental and creative superiority was in extreme
505 Frey, 378. 103 103 contrast by his perceived physical inferiority due to his physical ailment—suspected pycnodysostosis—along with his short stature. This contradiction of his mental strength versus his physical weakness must have been extremely frustrating if not torturous as he grasped towards social and cultural power despite states of helplessness. His physical ailment truly offered him no strength or power and only contributed weakness and helplessness throughout his entire life. He couldn’t get rid of it and nobody could take it away from him—he was stuck with it and it was his—it was his “I,” his “Me,” his “Self,” his identity and he had no choice in the matter. This was his baseline where he began and finished all things. Due to this alienation of being trapped inside his own body like a prisoner he must have felt his “otherness” around people and saw it reflected back at him through their own behavior and throughout the environment.
Yes, he was a French (seemingly heterosexual) male born and raised in 19- century privileged French aristocracy, but unfortunately, his physical ailment had the weight and power to strip him of these just birthrights as it essentially cancelled-out the status of his skin color, nationality, gender, orientation, wealth, and aristocracy. This was all possible since on the higher echelon, his physical ailment was a social and cultural liability in the hierarchy and class structure. Toulouse-Lautrec in his physical ailment wasn’t appreciated or valued as an asset by the higher class and this is why he didn’t appreciate or value his loss of status when he officially and permanently moved to Montmartre. Essentially he had nothing to lose, since he had already lost, according to the elitist standards and expectations of the establishment Bruant sang about in his Le
Mirliton nightclub. Eventually Toulouse-Lautrec would have encountered a developmental stage where his “Self” began to take shape as it detached from the rest of the world. As mentioned earlier, his physical ailment really didn’t begin to manifest its external and internal ailments as a toddler. But at some time, Toulouse-Lautrec would have seen 104 104 himself in a mirror or photograph. Eventually that reflection must have communicated his difference from others, reinforcing his unique “otherness” not just in his physical pain and suffering, but also in visual image, via possible pycnodysostosis characteristics (large cranial and body appendages). Not to mention a short stature and socio-cultural faux pas of a frequent runny nose and drooling mouth. His perception of himself as “other” only compromised whatever he pursued in life since it always answered to his physical ailment’s taxing existence. In many cases, he worked harder than his fellows around him (if not better) only to be found in a marginalized and ostracized outcome. For example, he excelled in academia and painting, just to find himself immobile if not bedridden— like punishment—forbidding any pursuit he desired. The older he became, the more apparent his physical deficits due to his ailment translated as social and cultural deficiency as well. His physical ailment was a constant source of guilt, shame and humiliation in regard to pursuits since it had the ability to function as a saboteur, an unwelcomed part of “the Self”.
But some might argue there was a long-term learned conditioning taking place surrounding Toulouse-Lautrec’s physical ailment. This could alternatively help to explain the artist’s abandonment of the establishment for the opposing bohemianism of
Montmartre. In theory, the artist would have learned to negatively associate his physical ailment with aristocracy. This would also include a negative association with their social and cultural traits, including hierarchy and class. Most of his pain and suffering occurred in the company of his aristocratic family, including his two major femur fractures and his long periods of solitary bed confinement. It would have been difficult to keep positive feelings and opinions about an environment constantly associated with pain and suffering. Montmartre was the most farthest removed environment from Toulouse-
Lautrec’s aristocracy and the overall establishment it fell under. Theoretically, this could be an alternative explanation for his déclassé move from aristocracy to bohemianism. 105 105
Interestingly, there is a famous photograph of the artist taken in 1891 by his friend and photographer, Maurice Guibert. In this well-known photograph, Guibert (along with the artist’s furia no doubt) practiced a sort of “trick” photography creating the dual
“mirror image” of his Montmartre friend (Figure 30). What is even more interesting is the title given to the image: Mr. Toulouse paints Mr. Lautrec. It is safe to say, the artist probably didn’t need the photographer to consider the concept of two different persons abiding in his body. This sense of duality, split-identities, hauntingly reminds us of the literary myth of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. These dual personalities of existence, one of self-preservation and one of self-sabotage could be considered a good versus evil archetypal battle.
Figure 30 - Mr. Toulouse paints Mr. Lautrec circa 1891 - Photograph (Photographer: Maurice Guibert 1856-1913) (No Copyright/PD-old) commons.wikimedia.org
106 106
His privileged noble aristocrat side that desired to be formally educated as a gentleman and academically trained as an artist was his Dr. Jekyll. His déclassé outcast bohemian side that desired the debauchery of alcoholism, prostitutes and sex found in bars, brothels and nightclubs was his Mr. Hyde. Perhaps the Hyde archetype is Mr. Lautrec named in the photograph, while his Dr. Jekyll is Mr. Toulouse, the artist in front of his canvas. The title of the photograph only speaks to the clever intelligence and charming wit of Toulouse-Lautrec. His physical ailment with its deformity, ability to torment, and dark history had to be assigned to the “ugly” Mr. Hyde. It was a part of “the Self” that even his Dr. Jekyll had to face and admit existed when it decided to show up and inflict its pain and suffering upon the artist. Hypothetically, Dr. Jekyll would have been an asset in the establishment, but Mr. Hyde in all his deformity and deficiency was total liability. Their co-existence was a package deal, trapped together in the same body, meaning if you reject one, you rejected them both, the good with the bad. This was very much the case with Toulouse-
Lautrec. Those who rejected him for his physical ailment also rejected his intellectual brilliance and artistic gift as a human being. This is why he said he would always be a thoroughbred hitched up to a rubbish cart.
Toulouse-Lautrec: His Father Alphonse “The Old Fool” (Last words the artist spoke).—Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec506
As a father, Alphonse seemed to always hold a passive-aggressive relationship with his artist son. He was either completely absent or at least distant, showing little attention and sharing only intermittent experiences with his only son. Alphonse, in his own convenience and financial desperation, even committed a partial-disinheritance of
506 Frey, 492. 107 107 his son by selling property destined to go to the artist. Alphonse also made insinuations that he was upset if not ashamed of his son’s newfound identity as a bohemian artist and
Montmartre resident. There is visual proof the artist entertained a variety of signature styles in his artwork, including stylized Remarque stamps from a Japanese influence (Figure 31).507 One has to imagine if it was due to his father’s suggestion.
Figure 31 - Self-Invented Remarque Stamp Signature of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
Sadly, Toulouse-Lautrec basically lived a father-less existence. Never did the artist live alone with his father Alphonse during his childhood and never did his father come to live with his successful and famous son in Montmartre. Alphonse’s relation is the antithesis of the relationship his son held with his mother. The lifelong vacuum space that existed between the artist and his father must have developed some scar tissue, even if it was repressed or resisted. Freud’s Oedipal Complex uses psychoanalytic theory to
507 Frey, 401. 108 108 help explain unconscious dynamics between a male child and their male and female parents.
Art historian Griselda Pollock makes multiple parallels between Toulouse-
Lautrec’s general art subject matter as it relates to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of the unconscious, specifically on fetishism.508 A fetish is when “an object or bodily part whose real or fantasied presence” becomes “psychologically necessary” for an individual to express devotion, reverence or sexual gratification.509 Fetishism is the function of that fetish acting out in the individual’s life per se. Her argument touches on the theoretical dynamics that exist between Alphonse and his artist son. For instance, it could be argued
Alphonse played a bigger role in the development of his son’s bohemian art, despite his overall distance and detachment as father from his déclassé offspring.
As an example, Pollock argues the image of the cocked leg in black stocking found in the poster Jane Avril Jardin de Paris (1893) as art subject (iconographic bodily part) is actually a signifier of Alphonse’s black socked cocked-leg image seen and memorialized in well-documented photography of the artist’s eccentric father.510 Such visual imagery signified Alphonse’s own manly legacy and helped to shape its iconic role with his artist son and the rest of the Toulouse-Lautrec family.
Pollock goes on to suggest that Avril’s cocked leg is the “phallic substitute and stand-in” for Alphonse’s own phallic cocked leg found in family photography that was undoubtedly seared into the psyche of his artist son, including the unconscious.511
Historically, Alphonse had a well-known undeniable physical lifestyle, one his artist son
508 Griselda Pollock, Differencing the Cannon: Feminist Desire and the Writing of Arts Histories (London: Routledge, 1999) 65. 509 Merriam-Webster, fetish. 510 Pollock, 71. 511 Pollock, 70-75. 1 09 109 could not meet, fulfill or sustain due to his physical ailment and all its causes and effects.
Yet, the black-socked cocked leg of Alphonse captured in photograph signifies the artist’s physically competent and sexually potent absentee father in proud masculine stance.512 Therefore, theoretically speaking, this parallel Pollock has identified is a possible unconscious projection of desire for the artist’s own absentee father through the displacement of his father’s own iconic bodily image onto that of Jane Avril.513
The cocked leg shared between Alphonse and Jane Avril is the phallus object that becomes the symbolic penis. As a disavowed son, who was longing to identify with a physically and otherwise unavailable father, Toulouse-Lautrec managed to express such repressed desire (devotion or reverence) through his art, by transcribing his father’s bodily image onto the female body of Jane Avril.514 In Toulouse-Lautrec’s case, transcribing the male bodily image onto the female’s protects the artist from desiring his father “inappropriately” such as incestuously or homosexually, including any desire for his father’s penis515 Alphonse in all his peculiarity, was ironically desirable. He was a masculine aristocrat man whose life revolved around the physical dominance of the environment through the hunting and training of animals as well as the seduction of women via his manly attributes. But unfortunately, due to Toulouse-Lautrec’s physical ailment, Alphonse’s traditional fatherly resources were denied to his one and only son, theoretically triggering these repressed fetishistic desires for his father. Toulouse-Lautrec was cut off from having paternal intimacy with his father
Alphonse. He was cut off from the powerful influence his father Alphonse had with seducing women via his masculine prowess. Not to mention how the artist was cut off by
512 Pollock, 70-72. 513 Pollock, 71-72. 514 Pollock, 71-72. 515 Pollock, 67-70. 110 110 all the countless father and son experiences (or lack thereof) that must have been denied to him throughout his lifetime due to his physical ailment.
This cut off experience from his father Alphonse along with all its masculine signifiers could easily be argued under psychoanalytic theory (especially Freudian) as an act of symbolic castration for the artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.516 Hence, the artist’s development of the black cocked leg fetish originating from a signified body part of an absentee father unto the opposite sex as a psychological protection from homoeroticism as he expressed desire and longing for his father.517 This castrated state might also help to explain other subject matter and iconographic imagery within his artwork psychoanalytically speaking as suggested by Pollock. Nevertheless, it’s important to note that such an unconscious artistic reflection of a symbolic castration of the artist is directly contingent only on the existence of his physical ailment and its negative effect it had on his relationship with his father Alphonse. Perhaps this is why Pollock was able to so quickly identify the parallel between Alphonse’s cocked leg imagery captured in photography and Jane Avril’s cocked-leg imagery captured in art (Figures 32 and 33). If there is indeed validity to the connection between Jane Avril’s image and Alphonse, it could easily then be categorized as a repressed desire and longing for the artist to finally connect to his father and his father’s famous legacy, even if only expressed unconsciously through his art. In addition, the artist’s own attention seeking exhibitionism (including cross-dressing in women’s clothing) was an eccentric behavior he shared in common with Alphonse and continued to practice years later. It was possibly a symbolic gesture to reconnect with his father who he privately admired, desired and emulated despite the painful estrangement.
516 Pollock, 73-74. 517 Pollock, 70-74. 111 111
Figure 32 - The Artist's Father Alphonse dressed in Exotic Scottish Kilt as Falcon Hunting Highlander circa late 19th century – Photograph (Public Use and Share Use under U.S. Copyright Fair Use Act: https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html) Image Link: http://ekladata.com/[email protected] (The Image referenced by Pollock to suggest a visual signifier existed between Alphonse and his son’s art subject)
112 112
Figure 33 - Jane Avril Jardin de Paris by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec circa 1893 – Color Lithograph Poster (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org (The Image referenced by Pollock to corroborate a visual signifier between Alphonse and son’s art in form of Jane Avril)
113 113 Toulouse-Lautrec: His Mother Adèle
My dear Mama, you are definitely a Hen who hatched a famous Duck.― Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec518
As mother, Adèle was everything Alphonse was not. She was more than her son’s mother. She was also his friend and confidant, especially in the dual absence of her husband and son’s father Alphonse. She also played the role as watchdog protector and preventative caretaker in regard to his physical ailment and its conditions. She was also his advocate for higher education and art agent right up until his own discovery of
Montmartre. Most importantly, she was his financial lifeline, even during an adulthood filled with personal success, fame, and art sales. It is safe to say there was mutual co- dependency in their relationship, even if much of it was quite positive and beneficial.
Basically, Adèle’s life was devoted to her son and the physical ailment gave her the perfect reason if not excuse to actually deny her son some of the personal independence and adult autonomy he needed and desired. No one could question the obvious love, commitment and devotion of Adèle, but much of it was probably the displaced affection of a single mother absent of her own husband. Her son was “the man in her life” and in turn, Adèle was the “woman in Toulouse-Lautrec’s life”. These roles didn’t change much for either one, minus her son’s private out of sight rendezvous in Montmartre. Adèle’s supervision of her son was constant. Toulouse-Lautrec even though greatly benefiting from his and her dependency, must have dreamed of more. His move into the Montmartre quarters confirmed as much and functioned as a detachment from her, a first chance to finally experience some individuation.
In 1882, just two years before his move to Montmartre, the artist created a telling charcoal drawing of himself titled and signed Lost (Figure 34). The self-portrait drawing
518 “9Quotes,”accessed April 29, 2020, (www.9quotes.com) https://www.9quotes.com/quote/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec-478019. 114 114 registers strong impressions of vulnerability, humility, melancholy and alienation. It is a black and white caricature of him resting on what looks to be a chamber pot, which could hold both literal and symbolic meaning. A chamber pot in the 19th century, just like it is today, is essentially a portable toilet, a container one urinates or defecates in literally. The artist is seen on the pot (as if using it) in his composition, but its presence and purpose can still hold deeper meaning than the obvious. Socially and culturally it can symbolize excretion, filth, rubbish, the rejected or the abject as it relates to a member or group in a society.
Figure 34 - Lost (Self-Portrait) circa 1882 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec – Charcoal Drawing (Source: Julia Frey/No Copyright/PD-old) commons.wikimedia.org 115 115
His drawing could have been a “cry for help” in regard to his overall wellbeing. If the artist meant to associate his own body, identity or life with that which goes into the pot or the pot itself, it is a highly self-deprecating symbol. Arguably, this image embodies how the older the artist became, the more a social and cultural liability his physical ailment also became with its detrimental cause and effects on his mental and emotional health. He could no longer bear to survive in his mother’s world; it was too taxing due to his ambitions despite his condition. In hindsight, it is now apparent Toulouse-Lautrec was much more progressive and evolved in thought than his mother. His lifelong risqué choices prove he never had intentions to live her restricted pious lifestyle. It is also important to note the artist obviously kept some of his personal interests and activities a secret from her. His gradual drift from his mother along with his quick assimilation in Montmartre demonstrates he could have been harboring déclassé desires long before his move to Montmartre in 1884. Potential fantasies and pursuits of alcohol, sex, prostitutes and brothels were interests and activities the artist knew were better left hidden.
Yet still, it would be next to impossible to speak on all the shared communications of both mother and son, since their correspondence was endless. The letters they both wrote each other (sometimes daily) could fill a private library. The take away from their sacred mother and child relationship was that to him, she was his pious martyred mother and to her, he was her only begotten noble son. Just another complicated archetypal role of dualities played out in the artist’s life.
Finally, his quote that referred to his mother as a hen and himself as a duck is not lost in translation. She was indeed his “mother hen” always protective and caring (even if too much) and he was “her ugly duckling” who understandably felt lost in his denied
“Self” living in a controlled environment. 116 116 Toulouse-Lautrec: The Demimonde Women
The wise woman patterns her life on the theory and practice of modern banking…She never gives her love, but only lends it on the best security and at the highest rate of interest.—Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec519
Now that the artist truly knew what it was to be lost in his own identity and life experience, it was time to parallel such a similar sentiment in his flagrant image of a prostitute painted in 1896, titled Alone (Figure 35). The artwork is part of the artist’s
Elles (Them) series of demimonde women. Her black stockings cannot go unnoticed after
Pollock’s analysis of their fetishistic significance connected back to Alphonse. The image is striking for the prostitute’s provocative bodily position. First, she is lying down on what looks like a bed created in the negative space of the cardboard medium. She is on her back. Her eyes are closed as if resting, asleep, or worse. She is face up with her neck exposed. Her arms and hands seem useless with muscle fatigue. Her overall body seems flopped down on the bed. Finally her black stocking-clad legs look to be parted while she seems unaware of her surroundings in an unsettling if not frightening display. The viewer is confronted with the prostitute’s probable recent service to a client, she is left alone in its aftermath, bringing the title to fruition.
The demimonde women, including the prostitutes who were with Toulouse-
Lautrec, did experience sexual intimacy with his physical ailment and all its conditions.
Montmartre’s adult atmosphere and sex establishments would have created a higher probability of sexual encounters for any visitor or resident. The same would be true for
Toulouse-Lautrec, regardless of his physical ailment. The historical evidence does show he was successful with demimonde women despite his physical ailment, but it was a success directly contingent on the environment of Montmartre.
519 “Quote Master: Quotes about everything,” Quote Master I Quotes about Everything, accessed April 30, 2020, (https://www.quotemaster.org.) https://www.quotemaster.org/q990ec94cef224ce7cdf3c85f76523ef3. 117 117
Figure 35 - Alone (Elles) circa 1896 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec –Oil on Cardboard (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
These demimonde women were the only women his mother had to compete with to keep the affections of her son. Each one was her own demi-mondaine of the time that entered his life quietly, privately, anonymously and secretly behind Adèle’s back while he made every attempt to keep up his appearance of respectability and nobility around his mother. His choice was not out of maliciousness per se, but probably out of his own convenience, avoidance and survival. At the very least, he remained silent on the significant role these women played in his adult life on behalf of his mother’s own sense of respectability and nobility.
It was his job to balance the virtuous woman with the risqué demi-mondaine woman. A potentially challenging prospect since his mother’s presence in his life over- shadowed him immensely. But while in the heart of Montmartre, her son could metaphorically “cheat” on their relationship with the demimonde women. 118 118
These women were a vital resource for Toulouse-Lautrec in multiple ways. He gained sex from them, artistic inspiration, model access, conversation, accompaniment, friendship, and possibly even love. These were resources seemingly unattainable to the artist from any other social class of women. Because of this fact, it really didn’t matter these women were devalued in their demimonde status and avoided as outcasts by the respectable and noble.
Édouard Manet’s Olympia of 1865 (Figure 36) is a worthwhile image to consider when evaluating Toulouse-Lautrec’s parallel to déclassé demimonde women of the 19th century. According to art historian T.J. Clark, Manet’s Olympia image is of a proposed prostitute of the 19th century.520 Yet, her identification in the social hierarchy of the time is difficult to place in comparison to the typical canon of female classic nudes and courtesan paintings.521 As Clark argues, in the 19th century, women of Manet’s kind who had traditionally been confined to the “edges of society” were becoming more apparent in mainstream society, giving them the power to actually alter the social and cultural dynamic, as they “usurped the center of things…making the city over in their image.”522
This subsequently added a sense of confusion in an established society structured around hierarchy and class, a characteristic unwelcomed by the top echelons such as the bourgeoisie and aristocracy.523 As Clark notes, “the difference between the middle and the margin of the social order became blurred” and Manet’s Olympia signified that blurred confusion creating such controversy.524
520 Timothy J. Clark, The Painting of Modern Life: Paris in the Art of Manet and His Followers (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press, 1984) 79. 521 Clark, 79. 522 Clark, 79. 523 Clark, 79. 524 Clark, 79. 119 119
Figure 36 - Olympia circa 1865 by Édouard Manet – Oil on Canvas (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
But for the record, Toulouse-Lautrec’s progressive movement between two social classes also blurred the lines of the establishment. The born and raised nobleman’s transformation from aristocrat to bohemian also made him difficult to place, similar to
Manet’s Olympia. As Toulouse-Lautrec paralleled himself with the social outcast, he also found himself confined to the edges of society. Toulouse-Lautrec’s déclassé movement from higher to lower class was atypical of the bourgeoisie and aristocracy. His new freedom found in Bohemia created a sense of confusion for his aristocrat family and the 19th century establishment. His downward class movement and social and cultural transformation was also unwelcomed, even though it’s what gave Toulouse-Lautrec the power to alter his own dynamic as it related to his marginalized and ostracized experience. As this new identity transformed his art, it also usurped the center of things, as Toulouse-Lautrec replaced mainstream society’s “noble lady” with the art model, female entertainer, prostitute and lesbian—his demimonde women. 120 120
Truly, Manet might have started the presentation of demimonde women (like the prostitute) as modern art subject matter—but Toulouse-Lautrec ran with it, continued it, if not finished it—as one of its greatest presenter’s altogether.
It is interesting to note how Manet’s infamous Olympia of 1865 relates to Toulouse-Lautrec, artistically and even personally, in a haphazard circumstance of unexpected parallels. Ironically, Manet presented his Olympia as a prostitute and art subject matter as early as 1865 (when Toulouse-Lautrec was only one year old) which challenged the 19th century establishment through the power of visual art.
But serendipitously, one day Toulouse-Lautrec literally met Olympia in person— at least the woman who was Manet’s model.525 Her name was Victorine Meurent and in her later years, she also lived in Montmartre.526 Her residence was on the rue de Douai and she was Manet’s art model from 1862-1874.527 Visitors described her then as a
“stooped, old, wrinkled and nearly bald” woman who answered the door.528 Toulouse- Lautrec, according to others, would gift her “chocolates or a bouquet of flowers” as his friends were introduced to the famous model.529 Toulouse-Lautrec made it a habit to take an oblivious friend to visit Olympia, undoubtedly basking in the profoundness of his feat.530 In addition, it has been documented that Toulouse-Lautrec “contributed 100 francs to help purchase Olympia for the Louvre in 1889.”531
The prostitute was the ultimate demi-mondaine of the 19th century. Toulouse- Lautrec valued her as an asset despite the grievance against her behavior and existence as
525 Frey, 418. 526 Frey, 418. 527 Frey, 418. 528 Frey, 418. 529 Frey, 418. 530 Frey, 418. 531 Frey, 418-19. 121 121 a deplorable liability. He relied on her for multiple resources and a willingness to accommodate his physical ailment for sex, companionship, and friendship. This was an accommodation he couldn’t and wouldn’t find elsewhere with other women. Even though the artist seemed to appreciate these women patterning their lives like a modern business, withholding their love to only lend it out, they were the closest thing he ever experienced to having true love with a woman.
Manet’s Olympia represented these women who accommodated him, especially in his physical condition. Perhaps this is why he went out of his way to keep her and the archetypal prostitute alive for himself and others by paying her visits, nobly introducing his friends to her and offering his respect with a gift of chocolates or flowers.
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Male Anarchists It is easy to see how male anarchists could stand in as surrogate father-figures and masculine role models for Toulouse-Lautrec. They were men who filled in the vast void that Alphonse left in his son’s life. They were bold and daring in their protest against social injustice and in their demands for equality. They used a platform of creativity to circulate their message to the world, whether it was musical, lyrical, theatrical, or literary.
The delivery of that message became entertainment for the audience while the talent itself became their art.
His parallel with the male anarchist must have been exceptionally reinforcing to the artist, since it not only validated an outcast experience, but also any repressed desire and longing for male-to-male bonding denied to him by his father’s estrangement. Truly,
Toulouse-Lautrec had engaged with fellow men since his move to Paris, like his rapins in the atelier. But the male anarchist was not the typical man since his title as anarchist meant he took risks that threatened his physical safety and freedom. Such anarchists were threatened with police arrest and overall retaliation in their vocal outcries and activist 122 122 behaviors. Many had been arrested and knew what it was to serve time or pay fines for their personal beliefs on justice and equality. Maybe the establishment labeled them a déclassé outcast, but for Toulouse-Lautrec and others, they were heroic in their identity and experience. A dive deeper in psychoanalytic theory might even discover the male anarchists’ extended function in Toulouse-Lautrec’s life was to fulfill and sustain the very role that the artist could never live up to due to his physical ailment. By unconsciously keeping these strong and powerful males in his intimate circle (even if just as art subject) the artist was able to symbolically fulfill and sustain the role of a strong and powerful heroic masculine male with full stature. Since he could not fulfill it, he had them fulfill it for him. He trusted them in his own admiration of them, so whatever they could achieve, especially on his behalf, it only made their behavior more rewarding to the artist. Such positive reinforcement only solidified their relations.
Toulouse-Lautrec: The Vengeful Acts of Defiance as it Relates to his Physical Ailment As Toulouse-Lautrec found his success and fame as an avant-garde bohemian artist living in 19th-century Montmartre, unfortunately a progressive decline in his physical, mental and emotional health occurred as the incline of risky, self-destructive behavior. In his achievement as successful risqué outcast and famous déclassé artist, he seemed to reach the point of existence where his past met with his future, and it was a volatile meeting of two opposing worlds of reality and experience. There were probably conflicts in truth and emotion the artist cared to forget via the unconscious defense mechanisms of repression and resistance as he became an artist living in Paris. His physical ailment with all its conditions and dark history was in absolute contradiction to his personal success, fame and long overdue acceptance found in Montmartre. It is common to witness successful and famous people sabotage their redemption as they 123 123 attempt to deny their past’s existence and its impact on their lives. Toulouse-Lautrec’s physical ailment was the cause and effect of his dark past and now it had moved with him into his present and was going to have a significant say on his future.
It was time to face the truth since denial for the sake of survival had played its role in the past, but now he was free living in an accepting niche of society, whatever had been repressed or resisted came to the surface to finally be addressed by his conscious
Self. What Toulouse-Lautrec had gone though as a child and adolescent was stressful and traumatic, and arguably, he might have had characteristics of post-traumatic-stress- disorder (PTSD). The artist was not known to have sought out any professional counseling or treatment to address his physical ailment and its consequences to his overall life.
It’s not uncommon for human beings to turn to substance abuse and self- destructive behavior if overwhelmed with conditions and circumstances they find unacceptable or unbearable. Of course, his art functioned as his “therapist” as he paralleled himself with fellow social outcasts who had similar marginalized and ostracized experiences. Toulouse-Lautrec gained validation and legitimacy by making these fellow outcasts his art subject, vicariously reaping the rewards of their own identity and experience. This was a vengeful act of defiance toward the social hierarchy and class structure of aristocracy. This not only protected himself from further personal rejection (by using his own image) but it also gave him the means to use these outcasts’ images as a “dagger” to inflict his own pain and suffering onto the establishment. This was punishment for their own acts of abandonment and betrayal of him. This was also all because of his physical ailment and its lifelong cause and effect on his entire life. 124 124
The question is whether or not his vengeful acts of defiance were conscious choices or unconscious acts? Toulouse-Lautrec displayed additional vengeful acts of defiance, beyond his canvas, leading up to his final days.
Toulouse-Lautrec: His Alcoholism Of course one should not drink much, but often.—Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec532
Alcohol was a common substance found in the quarters of Montmartre. Artists aren’t known for their abstinence from pleasure, so not surprisingly Toulouse-Lautrec loved a good drink, like many artists. However, due to his physical ailment, he brought many variables to the glass, bottle or bar that others did not. His physical ailment’s dark past was a precursor to alcohol’s potential threat to the artist’s overall health. Yet,
Toulouse-Lautrec, in his celebration of—final freedom, found acceptance, sexual liberation, art success and fame—did indulge in alcohol. It was just one of the many pleasures Montmartre had to offer and the artist took advantage of its availability.
It not difficult to document that Toulouse-Lautrec was an alcoholic and that its consequences probably contributed to his early demise.533 Its development even caused him to experience “alcoholic hallucinations” to the point where his mother with the assistance of others had to intervene for his own health and safety.534
The artist eventually earned the reputation as a heavy drinker who had to drink while making art and who became upset if you did not drink with him.535 The alcohol
532 Frey, 472. 533 Frey, 469. 534 Frey, 469. 535 Frey, 347. 125 125 and its possible intoxication obviously relaxed his body tremendously, since others often witnessed the spectacle of him sleeping in public.536
Hypothetically speaking, the long term use of alcohol would have had a greater impact on his already compromised physiological anatomy and skeleton than the typical drinker. One must remember, due to his supposed pycnodysostosis, he would have possibly had internal organs or systems potentially compromised on the genetic level. If such was the case, the artist’s consumption of alcohol (abusive or otherwise) would have had possible unknown outcomes. Expectedly, these would be quite unfavorable.
Generally speaking, many civilizations and cultures have already discovered that drinking alcohol numbs the human body from feeling physical pain. Therefore, it could be possible when the artist drank (especially continually) it functioned to alleviate the known pain and suffering of his physical ailment. Examples of such pain could be throbbing, inflammation, aches, swelling, soreness, tenderness, as well as others. It would then be understandable that the artist might have had a therapeutic motive that drove him to drink alcohol, including the volume. Of course, it is also understandable that such a possible relationship existing between drinking alcohol and pain alleviation could lead to tolerance, addiction and even alcoholism. If this is what did occur as it related to
Toulouse-Lautrec and his alcoholism, then it is just more evidence his physical ailment is key to examining his life, including his art. But his eventual developed alcoholism could have also been a consequence of his desire to numb mental and emotional pain as well—with too many to list—going back to his early childhood. It wouldn’t be surprising to discover his developed alcoholism was related to the effects of his parents and their dysfunctional relationship as much as his physical ailment. The artist was never able to count Alphonse as a close, intimate, caring,
536 Frey, 347. 126 126 loving, supportive father and he was never able to replace his mother’s love with that of another woman’s love such as a wife. These were two wounds he was never able to mend. Perhaps the alcohol numbed their pain. He lived up to his words, for he drank often.
Toulouse-Lautrec: His Contraction of Syphilis
Love is a disease which fills you with a desire to be desired.—Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec537
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease which was rampant at times during the 19th century.538 There was no cure and it was contracted on various levels of the 19th- century social class hierarchy.539 The infected novelist, Gustavbe Flaubert was reported as saying, “Everybody has it more or less.”540 Many of society’s famous social and cultural leaders had died from the disease in the 19th century.541 It is believed that the number infected with Syphilis was far greater than what the statistics claimed in the 19th- century.542 There is a progression of the disease with different stages of development showing specific symptoms that can ultimately lead to death.543 Lesions were often the first signs on the infected and in their eventual healing, it misled them (and others) to believe they were no longer contagious.544
537 “100% Sourced Quotations,” Lib Quotes, accessed May 3, 2020, (https://libquotes.com/) https://libquotes.com/henri-de-toulouse-lautrec/quote/lbu0z3p. 538 Frey, 202. 539 Frey, 202. 540 Frey, 203. 541 Frey, 203. 542 Frey, 203. 543 Frey, 202-203. 544 Frey, 202. 127 127
Historically, in the patriarchal society of the 19th century, married men would visit brothels or an individual prostitute and then return home to infect their wives who in turn infected their unborn children.545 There has been a theory that Alphonse gave the disease to Adèle who then transferred congenital syphilis to their son, resulting in the physical ailment and his short stature.546 This belief has been buttressed by Alphonse’s bachelor reputation and the disease’s uncontrolled spread at the time, especially “among prostitutes and those frequenting them.”547 It has been suggested his own infection could have been “extremely likely.”548 However, there seems to be no evidence of Syphilis symptoms reported in Adèle or Alphonse.549 One cannot help but notice the congruency that exists around Alphonse’s lifestyle (and the accusations that exist) and his son’s accused lifestyle as a bohemian and artist.
Nevertheless, there is significant circumstantial evidence that Toulouse-Lautrec had contracted Syphilis. The evidence available is that after his “sexual initiation” occurred, while studying with his fellow rapins in the atelier, it was discovered he was visiting a specific prostitute known in the quarters by the name Rosa La Rouge.550 She had conveniently named herself after a woman in a famous Bruant song.551 According to others, the artist was “warned she had Syphilis.”552 Unfortunately, “either it was too late”
545 Frey, 202. 546 Frey, 202. 547 Frey, 202. 548 Frey, 202. 549 Frey, 203. 550 Frey, 202. 551 Frey, 202. 552 Frey, 202. 128 128 or for some unknown reason, he disregarded the warning, or as others have suggested he was, “unable to control his impulses.”553
But even if the latter was true, the artist had lived most of his life in confined environments with long periods of physical immobility. There was a slim chance that an exercise of restraint was going to be practiced by Toulouse-Lautrec in Montmartre. His physical ailment played a key role in his explosion of indulgence. To bystanders, looking at his life without its context, some of his personal choices might have seemed unintelligible.
There is a claim the artist’s cousin, good friend and medical student Gabriel Tapié de Céleyran had supposedly informed the French writer Sylvain Bonmariage (1887-1966) that his cousin was infected with Syphilis.554 As late as 1947, Bonmariage went on record to confirm what Céleyran had told him about the late artist.555
Toulouse-Lautrec’s physical ailment and all its conditions and discomforts actually operated as a cover to mask some of his new ailments, such as alcoholism and
Syphilis. It is fair to say, there came a point in his life, where the artist’s body had to contend with his physical ailment and its conditions, compounded by the progression of alcoholism and Syphilis. The artist now had three conditions simultaneously afflicting his body. Further, their progressions seemed to share symptoms which made it more difficult to conclude the causing factor of his appearance and behavior.556 This might have either slowed or stopped the intervention from others (such as his mother) since it could have easily been assumed his symptoms were due to his physical ailment and not alcoholism or Syphilis.
553 Frey, 202. 554 Frey, 203. 555 Frey, 203. 556 Frey, 202-203. 129 129
His ability to theoretically hide the cause of his physical condition becomes of importance when you consider the closeness of his mother Adèle. She was already known to explain away her son’s major physical ailment conditions as something minor and less serious.557 Even though the disease was well-known and common, Toulouse-Lautrec “might of gone to great lengths to hide this information” from his mother, since it would instantly reveal his private Montmartre lifestyle, including sex.558 Masquerading the symptoms of alcoholism and Syphilis as just conditions of his physical ailment was a way to protect himself and his mother from more pain and suffering.
A contraction of Syphilis is an unfortunate consequence that many in the 19th century suffered. But its inconvenient existence, does not mean one’s pursuit of happiness, love, affection and sex should cease to exist. Like his spoken words, desire was a motive and drive in his quest for what every human being needs, love. Toulouse-
Lautrec wanted to touch and be touched; he wanted to see a nude woman and be seen nude by a woman; he wanted to experience the body and intimacy of a woman; he wanted to know what it was like to have sex with a woman; he wanted to kiss and be kissed; he wanted to hold and be held; and finally, he wanted to love and be loved. These are all shared birth rights of any human being. These are the human experiences that have inspired artists, writers, poets, singers, songwriters and musicians for millennia. In many respects, his physical ailment denied him some (if not most) of these shared birth rights that so many human beings take for granted. The artist because of his condition and its expected cause and effect on others, probably took every chance he could in life to experience the human condition—despite risk and consequence.
557 Frey, 203. 558 Frey, 203. 130 130 Toulouse-Lautrec: Public Display of Nudity circa 1896
I can paint until I'm forty. After that I intend to dry up.—Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec559
Toulouse-Lautrec in his later years traveled to both southern and northern coastal communes to vacation with select friends. The Bassin d’ Arcachon found in the south of
France and Le Crotoy in the north of France were two destinations. He loved to fish, swim, drink, dine and socialize in these vacation spots. According to friend’s accounts, the artist was a good swimmer.560 It was also said the artist focused on “rowing and sailing,” making him a competent sailor who didn’t have to worry about getting sea sick.561 Water seemed to be a flattering medium for his ailed body. It must have freed his physical ailment’s limitations, showcasing his physical capabilities through buoyancy and the weightlessness of liquid matter.
During these trips to the French coast in the 1890s, a series of photographs were taken of the artist. These photographs taken by his fellow vacationers show the artist committing exhibitionistic displays of public nudity.562 In these photographs the artist is seen “skinny dipping” in these bodies of water, a behavior that is contrary to the relationship he held with his own ailed body (Figure 37).
His public nudity contradicts his own practice of layering clothes in the attempt to shape or construct a more ideal body. His layering of clothes for the sake of a “better or different” body could be seen as he attempt to hide the body itself, or to hide “the Self” from others. It could have been an attempt toward both. Further, it is possible his layered
559 Quote Master, accessed May 3, 2020, https://www.quotemaster.org/ q4a5a6c95f7894783a56eef240eb661f8. 560 Frey, 250. 561 Frey, 250. 562 Frey, 484-487. 131 131
Figure 37 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Swimming Completely Nude in the Bassin d'Arcachon circa 1896 – Photograph (Author: Maurice Guibert) (Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain/No Copyright) commons.wikimedia.org clothes gave him a physical support that benefited his body’s frame. It is hard to imagine the artist didn’t hold an internal private opinion about his own body image. His own nudity and its public exhibition is the least likely behavior expected from someone who had his condition. Historically, the artist went to great lengths to control its image and exposure in public. The photograph archive of Toulouse-Lautrec shows a consistent formality in his clothing choice, preferring pieces which covered the entirety of his body minus his head and hands, not to mention a strong tendency to cover his head with hats and wraps. 132 132
This is what makes his exhibitionist public display of nudity so profound as it relates to his entire life. There must have been some conscious or unconscious determiner besides warm temperatures and leisurely swimming, since stripping down completely nude is not necessary to cool down body temperature or swim. The artist’s great length to conceal his body must be considered in the analysis as well. If the artist celebrated the truth of his nude body, such displays would have probably occurred in other social and cultural settings. The answer must point back to the liability of his physical ailment in established society. His public nudity (especially in the Victorian era) cannot just be an innocent gesture. He is a famous modern artist from French aristocracy. Even though by this time
Toulouse-Lautrec had achieved much, there must have been feelings of abandonment and betrayal. The artist's father had abandoned him and so did the very establishment where his noble birthright was supposed to be grounded in aristocracy. In their collective abandonment, a symbolic neutering occurred, a metaphorical castration. In his nude exposure, he was able to reclaim his legitimate virility, by not just revealing an intact penis, but a well-endowed penis, denouncing any states of socio-cultural neuterization or castration. A vengeful act to reclaim his manhood, literally, since it had been taken away from him years ago socially, culturally and even regionally. His entire life he had concealed his body, his physical ailment, that which had caused him so much pain and suffering, resulting in a consequence with others and the environment.
But in one of these revealing photographs, he is seen flexing his arms, his muscles, standing proudly as he balances himself on the opposing edges of a boat floating in the Bassin d’ Arcachon. He holds a posture of traditional masculinity and dominance.
It is possible he felt the progression of disease and alcoholism in his body and believed his end was near. But he hadn’t dried up yet. 133 133 Toulouse-Lautrec: Public Display of Defecation circa 1898 Through the same collection of photographs of the artist in the late 1890’s there is still more exhibitionism in a public display of defecation on a beach in Le Crotoy. Even though his act could be interpreted as a mere prank or joke among fellow comrades, its deeper semiology speaks closely to his ultimate defiance against the establishment.563
Similar to his nudity, his public act of defecation “thumbs” the overall establishment’s sense of propriety. As if his déclassé move from aristocracy to bohemia wasn’t enough to insult the establishment, the artist takes it even a step further with a “personal deplorable act” which challenges all senses of nobility, respectability and sensibility of the 19th century. Similar to the nudity, the artist’s behavior looks to be a conscious decision, but the desire to commit the act could have manifested from an unconscious intent to target the establishment.
The photographs show how the artist relieves himself on the beach while being captured and observed by others on the other side of the lens (Figure 38). Just like the nudity, it seems out of character, since Toulouse-Lautrec himself could be intolerant of behavior from others. One photograph shows the artist looking back at the camera and smiling, an indication of his own free will and desire to participate. His direct gaze into the camera along with his smile screams of his defiance. His public defecation doesn’t just defy the establishment, it even defies the many years of planning and negotiations his parents (especially Adèle) had put in to get him into the best possible academic schools and art ateliers. Their self-sacrifice wouldn’t appreciate his seemingly unwarranted self- sabotage more than likely.
563 Frey, 484. 134 134
Figure 38 - Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Defecating on the Beach at Le Crotoy, Picardie circa 1898 – Photograph (Author: Maurice Joyant) (No Copyright/Public Domain) commons.wikimedia.org
The artist had a strong tendency to incorporate images and suggestions of scatology (feces) and possible urination fetish as seen in his drawings and paintings. If one gets the opportunity to peruse the art collection of Toulouse-Lautrec, they would discover compositions displaying: male and female derrières (buttocks), references to flatulence, anal excretion (the artist’s chamber pot) and urination. The majority of his fecal and urine references are found in his endless drawings on small simple paper.
However, Toulouse-Lautrec’s large painting The Sacred Grove (1884) shows the artist urinating in the composition with his back turned to the viewer.564 His entire painting was a parody of Pierre Puvis de Chavannes painting The Sacred Grove, Beloved of the
564 Frey, 161. 135 135
Arts and the Muses of 1874.565 Both his artworks and these photographs confirm the artist’s fixation on body excretion. He often mixed their uses with self-deprecation and satire.
The capture of defecation in art and photography has its literal representation, but in the case of Toulouse-Lautrec, the excretion of actual fecal matter is probably not the only point. It could have been a representation of his many experiences of expulsion from life’s privileges and opportunities. He was the excrement that was being expelled from society, his life or life itself. It could have also referenced a private sexual fetish with excretion in general. By incorporating it in his art humorously, he was able to indulge in it without confessing its true meaning to others.
At first glance, this display of public defecation might just look like “an old fool” relieving himself on a beach because there is no other place due to the isolation. But such an analysis would be inaccurate. For it’s the defiled act of an outcast, protesting socio- cultural injustice and inequality like an anarchist. Like the adult female entertainer, he exposes himself for mere spectacle. Utilizing his body to get what he wants like a prostitute—the opportunity to betray and abandon the very establishment that marginalized and ostracized him—punishment for their own abandonment and betrayal.
Toulouse-Lautrec: Insane Asylum circa 1899 All confined things die. ― Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec566
In or around the year of 1899, Toulouse-Lautrec was checked into a private insane asylum at Neuilly.567 His mother Adèle had made the decision with the counsel and
565 Frey, 161. 566 “Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec – Artist Biography with a Portfolio of His Most Famous Paintings and Drawings,” Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Paintings, Prints & Artwork, accessed May 3, 2020, (http://henritoulouselautrec.org/) http://www.henritoulouselautrec.org/quotes/. 567 Frey, 456. 136 136 assistance of multiple others after a series of troubling events had occurred with her son.568
Some of these events were “drunken sprees and public embarrassments.”569
Apparently, he had also physically “collapsed in the street.”570 A possible attack of paralysis had occurred, triggered by “an attack of delirium tremens” which subsequently took place in a brothel.571 Due to all these events at the time, it was said he “was carried, screaming from his studio” during possible intervention.572 There was also evidence of hallucinations and overall declining health.573 In the late 1890’s, another episode had occurred, where he fired a pistol while alone in a room, proclaiming to friends Thadée and Misia Natanson, he was shooting at the “attacking spiders.”574 This was just more evidence to validate Adèle’s decision for a professional intervention.
Once it was discovered the artist had been committed, a variety of critics began to write excerpts about Toulouse-Lautrec’s institutionalization.575 First, there were negative vindictive accusations attacking his art, character, physical looks and sanity.576
Eventually, those who were outraged by the assassination came to his defense in their own writings.577
568 Frey, 456. 569 Frey, 456. 570 Frey, 456. 571 Frey, 456. 572 Frey, 456. 573 Frey, 456. 574 Frey, 431. 575 Frey, 462-465. 576 Frey, 462-465. 577 Frey 462-465. 137 137
According to asylum doctors, the biggest deficit in Toulouse-Lautrec’s breakdown was memory loss.578 His memory and its return were going to be used as measurements of his recovery.579 While committed, the artist did continue to create art in conjunction with his recovery and official treatment.580 It is important to note that the artist finished a collection of circus drawings that were created during his stay in the asylum that were successfully turned into an album.581 These circus drawings were composed by the artist from memory only, a strategic move to demonstrate his memory in action to doctors.582Their creation (along with other projects) was an effort to convince the asylum doctors his memory was sound and he was indeed sane and competently able to return to his life.583 The artist’s recreation of a circus scene with all its elements was an impressive feat for his condition and circumstance.584
Of course part of his rehabilitation was to abstain from the indulgences that got him there in the first place like alcohol and women.585 His three month stay (February – May of 1899) finally came to an end in the asylum and all were pleased with his recovery and compliance overall.586 In his departure, he proudly exclaimed, “I bought my freedom with my drawings.”587
578 Frey, 471. 579 Frey, 471. 580 Frey, 469. 581 Frey, 488. 582 Frey, 471. 583 Frey, 471. 584 Frey, 471. 585 Frey, 466. 586 Frey, 471-473. 587 Frey, 471. 138 138
Symbolically, his commitment in the asylum is a return to his confinement in his earlier years, possibly triggered by a refusal to address the inevitable. The key truth was that his physical ailment had everything to do with his mental and emotional breakdown.
It wasn’t just another random note in an eccentric artist’s life, as much as he and others might have wished it to be living in the 19th century. Because it was his mother Adèle who made the decision to confine him (by definition a re-confinement), it must have felt like a regressive return to rejection, exclusion, refusal, alienation, illegitimacy, abandonment, betrayal, punishment and finally a freak of nature. His physical ailment all began with his birth, before it was able to hijack every developmental stage, experience and environment of his life. Its existence was a big deal. But often the artist made peace with its consequence by playing it down and making lighthearted remarks around its cause and effect. A necessary reconciliation with his own physical ailment was now a mandatory step to move forward into the future undisturbed. A final act to stop the repression and resistance of his dark past was “past due” by the late 1890’s. By this time he was still managing his physical ailment, in addition to being older, more tired, an alcoholic, infected with Syphilis, and now committed to the asylum. The artist frequently used jokes, wit, charm, satire and parody to captivate others and probably to deny the existence of his undisclosed serious pain and suffering. By now, any lighthearted or cynical disposition would seem inappropriate, since he was in a very serious and vulnerable situation. He faced a potential devastating outcome after an already marginalized and ostracized experience that could cost him his sanity, freedom or life.
His insight that confinement causes the death of all things is prophetic when you consider his own life story and the events that unfolded.
139 139 Toulouse-Lautrec: His Death circa 1901 Dying’s damned hard!—Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec588
The spring of 1901 Toulouse-Lautrec had a stroke.589 It led to following a similar set of sanctions practiced at the asylum, no alcohol or women since both seemed toxic to his health, or more specifically to his behavior.590 Due to the abstinence of his two volatile lovers, he was telling others, “Bacchus and Venus are barred.”591 During this time he was still working and selling, and “very pleased” with another collection of artworks labeled his Massaline series.592 The artist’s painting style (texture and color palate) evolved into a darker composition, almost melancholic.593 But eventually, it was reported he became terribly thin, weak, shrunken, and barely eating.594 It was also said he began to look “prematurely old.”595 His hand started to shake so much it would prevent him from working.596 These characteristics finally led to the end of his art practice altogether.597 One of Toulouse-Lautrec’s final paintings, Un Examen à la Faculté de Médecene
(An Examination at the Faculty of Medicine) circa 1901 was created on behalf of his cousin Gabriel Tapié de Céleyran who was preparing for his medical thesis defense.598
However, it is contested the candidate seen in the artist’s composition even resembles his
588 Frey, 492. 589 Frey, 488. 590 Frey, 488. 591 Frey, 488. 592 Frey, 488-489. 593 Frey, 490. 594 Frey, 489. 595 Frey, 489. 596 Frey, 490. 597 Frey, 490. 598 Frey 490. 140 140 cousin.599 The topic of defense was “on vaginal herniation”600 The other two gentlemen in the composition are cousin Gabriel’s professors, Wurtz and Fournier.601 It was by coincidence or destiny that the two professors both had interest in the studies of alcoholism and Syphilis.602 Cousin Gabriel was also the supposed informant who told Bonmariage that Toulouse-Lautrec had Syphilis.603 All of these coincidences seeming to intersect at the personal lifestyle of Toulouse-Lautrec register as peculiar, especially at the end of his life, another event of serendipity. Toulouse-Lautrec, as if he could feel his own demise quietly and privately sneaking up on him, instinctually went to his studio to clean, organize, complete some artworks and stamp them with his original red monogram.604 It was the final oeuvre of his workstation.
In June 1901, while preparing to jump on a train and make his exit, he turned to
Renee Vert and told her, “We can kiss for you won’t see me again,” immediately following with, “When I am dead, I will have a nose like Cyrano!”605 The artist right up until the very end was still questioning his appearance. He possibly for the first time, approached Verte for a kiss, but seemed confident it would be his last. His strength continued to leave his weak and thin body and finally Adèle requested that he come to her estate at Malromé.606 Unfortunately, one of Toulouse-Lautrec’s friends delayed the
599 Frey 490. 600 Frey, 490. 601 Frey, 490. 602 Frey, 490. 603 Frey, 203. 604 Frey, 490. 605 Frey, 491. 606 Frey, 491. 141 141 arrival.607 In August of 1901, the artist “suffered a second stroke from which he would not recover.”608 To the relief of Adèle, he finally made it to Malromé, which offered
Toulouse-Lautrec “his request, to die at his mother’s home.”609
He arrived on August 20, 1901, the hottest time of the year.610 He was moved to an upstairs bedroom in his mother’s estate, while in a “paralyzed and intermittent comatose” condition.611
Due to the summer and its heat, the environment at Malromé was plagued with swarming, landing and biting flies which also attacked the artist on his deathbed.612
Toulouse-Lautrec “drifted in and out of sleep” and often “called out to his mother for reassurance” and even his father once he arrived.613 When the artist saw his lifelong absentee eccentric hunter of a father appear in the room, he said, “I knew you wouldn’t miss the kill.”614His mother Adèle, father Alphonse, a priest, a nun along with other attendees were present.615 In his final hours, the priest gave the last sacraments while others like his mother and the nun said the rosary.616 Alphonse seemed to fidget at the event of his own son’s death while he tried to exterminate the disruptive insects in the darkened room.617 His father’s behavior is what initiated the artist’s last words about
607 Frey, 491. 608 Frey, 492. 609 Frey, 492. 610 Frey, 492. 611 Frey, 492. 612 Frey, 492. 613 Frey, 492. 614 Frey, 492. 615 Frey, 492. 616 Frey, 492. 617 Frey, 492. 142 142 him being an “old fool.”618 Surrounded by others, in his virtuous mother’s home, the artist began to fade away with a continual labored breathing.619
Finally, on September 9, 1901 at just a quarter past two o’ clock in the morning, the modern artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec died.620 He was 36 years old. It was reported to have rained similar to the night he was born, a detail his mother Adèle would have surely recalled.621
Immediately after the passing, Alphonse wrote a letter to Princeteau, telling the art mentor of his son’s death.622 He also expressed some thoughts and opinions on the life of his son.623 One of his most telling statements proclaimed,
“His sufferings are over…Let us hope that there is another life where we shall meet again, without hindrance to eternal friendship.”624
Finally, as if the roles had reversed, Alphonse knew what it was like to desire and long for his now absentee son, Henri. After the artist’s death and funeral, there were disagreements in regard to his final resting place.625 Alphonse and Adèle still could not get along, but the matriarch prevailed the prince, and Toulouse-Lautrec the artist was placed to rest “in the churchyard at the convent of Verdelais (Figure 39).”626 It was a place his pious mother Adèle loved and
618 Frey, 492. 619 Frey, 492. 620 Frey, 492. 621 Frey, 492. 622 Frey, 492. 623 Frey, 492. 624 Frey, 493. 625 Frey, 493. 626 Frey, 493. 143 143 undoubtedly it gave her some rest for the loss of her only begotten son.627 The artist’s father Alphonse died in 1912. But before he did, he signed all his rights away to his son’s friend and acting art dealer Maurice Joyant.628 Adèle worked with Maurice Joyant to preserve her son’s artwork and legacy, including the founding of the museum, Museé Toulouse-Lautrec in Albi.629 She finally died herself in 1930.
By 1901, Toulouse-Lautrec’s body was overwhelmed with ailments and disease.
He had lived a private life in Montmartre away from the eyes of his family. They probably had no accurate picture of all that his body had endured after leaving them in the South of France. Many of the artists of his time had indulged in the bohemian quarters and lifestyle where debauchery was part of the culture. Extremes were the common. But the artist’s body entered every situation already compromised due to his physical ailment. Even though his lifestyle was devised from social and cultural choices just like everyone else, he wasn’t everyone else. It must be said that his physical ailment “always got the first word and the last word” as it related to his body and overall health.
It demanded the first accommodation and the last consideration. It is apparent Toulouse-
Lautrec was aware of his own decline and soon to be death. Closing down his art studio, asking for one last kiss, and mentioning death and dying before it actually happened all demonstrate that fact. He might of felt “systems were shutting down” inside his body. It was a body that had been through so much. By 1901, it must have been exhausted. Surprisingly, it’s almost as if the artist finished his life how it basically began, at his mother’s home, bedridden, surrounded by an entourage of caretakers, including his father’s last minute antics, very reminiscent of his childhood experiences in the South of France. His parents’ behavior at his bedside was true to their opposing relationship,
627 Frey, 493. 628 Frey, 493. 629 Frey, 493. 144 144
Adèle the devoted mother, while Alphonse played the distant estranged dysfunctional parent. Yet, the artist verbally sought them out from his deathbed, needing to know they were close. As much as Alphonse was detached and removed emotionally, he attained a lot of his son’s attention the day he died. The comment about “not missing the kill” had a deeper meaning. Alphonse was the kind of man who was always on the hunt for something, “looking for the kill”, but this time, he was to witness his own dying son as the kill, hunted by death itself. Perhaps, as he laid in his deathbed, the clever words to his father were final hints to Alphonse. Hints that he was aware his father never wanted him, didn’t love him that he wasn’t good enough, ultimately rejected, all because of his physical ailment. Still, maybe Alphonse’s presence, even after his son’s transformation from noble aristocrat to bohemian outcast, was enough to make his son finally feel loved by him that day. It is epic to see how the most estranged relation the artist held throughout his life—that with his father Alphonse—came to be the most engaged in relation to his actual death.
The artist was given the Catholic sacraments which would have greatly relieved a worried Adèle. The tormenting flies and Alphonse’s attempt to deal with their constant attack was analogous, metaphoric and symbolic to the physical ailment’s attack on their entire lives—not just the artist’s. Finally and once and for all, Adèle managed the finer details of his life, even after his death, while Alphonse went back to being himself. In stark contrast to Adèle’s involvement, the overall impression given by
Alphonse was that he rejected his son via his lifelong estrangement as a father. Then, his apparent rejection continued to reveal itself more when Alphonse sold family estate and land which the artist was in direct line to inherit after his father’s own death. In addition,
Alphonse’s insinuation (if not outright suggestion) that the artist adopt a pseudo-name to ultimately “protect and preserve” the sanctity of Toulouse-Lautrec gave further revelation of a rejection. Alphonse exercised an obvious distance, detachment and un-involvement 145 145
Figure 39 - Tomb of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec at Verdelais, Gironde, France - Photograph (Credit: Author Henry Salomé/Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) No Changes Made) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by- sa/4.0/legalcode
in regard to his own son’s life, art success and fame. It is as if Alphonse’s lifelong goal was to “protect himself and the good name of Toulouse-Lautrec” from the physical ailment—seen only in its liability—despite the son and artistic genius trapped in its physical embodiment. Alphonse basically denounced his son and his rightful membership and title in the Toulouse-Lautrec family and it would be impossible to argue that the physical ailment wasn’t the key note that determined how such events played out between father and son until the artist’s death in 1901. Essentially, his own father marginalized and ostracized him similar to the collective establishment of the 19th century. Fortunately and understandably, his mother Adèle over-compensated for her son’s loss of his father’s presence and support. 146 146
Looking inside from the outside, one might conclude the artist’s Dr. Jekyll was finally conquered by his Mr. Hyde, since he was taken down dark paths of sabotage and destruction in his later years, which cost him his life. But truly, for the artist to embrace his full “Self” it required him to finally come to terms with his Mr. Hyde, the part of himself that others rejected. He was well acquainted with the “ugliness” of his Mr. Hyde, since it was the unpredictable saboteur that always had the reputation to manifest itself to destroy his mobility, his freedom, his choices, his chances at intimacy, his chances at love, his health and his overall happiness and future. Arguably, his development of destructive alcoholism and Syphilis as well as public displays of self-sabotaging defiant acts were effects caused by the physical ailment’s negative consequences to his life.
These consequences manifested over a lifetime as the artist lived with a visible short stature— a permanent physical mark like a scarlet letter—allotting the world the liberty to discount him as a freak of nature. This must have been a taxing burden to his self- identity not just physically, but psychologically, considering mental and emotional states.
Prior to Montmartre, the artist, his mother and other family members tried their best to hide, deny or minimize the physical ailment’s impact on his life. It was an attempt to reject the true existence of his Mr. Hyde, but unfortunately it came with a cost to the full
“Self” since Mr. Hyde’s existence was just as legitimate as Dr. Jekyll’s. Meaning, to reject one, was a rejection of his full self. Since, unlike his father, the artist couldn’t just conveniently distance, detach or be un-involved with his physical ailment. It was a physical embodiment of the “Self,” it lived in his genetics, the very DNA of his physical manifestation. Mr. Hyde was inbred into his existence from the moment of conception and his presence was inevitable, constant and permanent in the life of the artist. To come to terms with his Mr. Hyde meant the artist needed to embrace the physical ailment in all its “ugliness.” This truth is what explains the artist’s public display of nudity. In his nude exposure he fulfilled the purest act of self-disclosure, by revealing the very body that 147 147 embodied his physical ailment, on full public display, no more hiding, denying or minimizing its true physical state and stature.
In doing so, he came to terms once and for all with his Mr. Hyde, the very side of himself that tormented him since early childhood. In his surrender to the flesh and bone that embodied the physical ailment, he subsequently made peace with his Mr. Hyde, by sharing the most intimate, concealed and vulnerable part of himself with the entire world.
It was the same world that had consistently marginalized and ostracized him throughout his life. At one time, his physical ailment was a part of himself that he, his mother Adèle and the rest of the family worked so hard to eliminate from existence. But that time had ended. It was now time for Toulouse-Lautrec, the bohemian artist, the noble man, the only son and the ailed survivor to come to terms with the truth of a genetic disease caused by family inbreeding.
I believe in his later years, he came to terms with that truth. For his public display of nudity was the greatest example of self-acceptance and self-love the artist ever expressed, and like with his art, his physical ailment is the key to understanding such motive and drive. His journey, including any darkness, was necessary for him to embrace the truth of his physical ailment, but more importantly, the truth of its origination—his family. As he escaped to Montmartre, he carried that genetic truth with him and the call of his death returned him back to the physical ailment’s origin—his family. But his escape was not in vain, for he gifted the world with the modern avant-garde artworks he created while living in Montmartre and they are responsible for his art legacy today.
Consequently, his alcoholism and Syphilis (though both common in the 19th century), were unfortunate “passengers he picked up” along the way, but should not be used to discount the honor, victory or legacy of the artist, since the driver, his physical ailment, ultimately determined the directions his life took, and not just with his art, but with his personal life as well. While true to Toulouse-Lautrec form, it is believed his 148 148 public display of defecation was just a final au revoir déclassé act of abandonment and betrayal toward a 19th-century world and all its establishments.
I believe many of Toulouse-Lautrec’s acts such as using humor and self- deprecation as a protective shield, using his art to parallel with the social outcast, using alcohol to anesthetize pain, and using prostitutes for surrogates of true love and affection were unconscious drives. However, like any human being, the actions Toulouse-Lautrec took to find acceptance, inclusion, success, legitimacy, refuge, respect, love and fame were conscious motives.
His Dr. Jekyll made peace with his Mr. Hyde before his death, now he and the physical ailment can rest in peace, finally.
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