french-posters

Henri Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa, referred to simply as Toulouse-
Lautrec, worked in Paris in the late 19th century. Throughout his life he was
plagued by an undefined congenital health problem, which many have attributed
to a his aristocratic family’s history of inbreeding. From a young age, Toulouse-
Lautrec suffered from brittle bones that never fully healed after they broke, and
as he aged, these malformed bones inhibited his natural growth and resulted in
his unusually short stature. Although his torso was a normal adult size, his legs
never grew longer than when he was 13 years old. Toulouse-Lautrec’s physical
handicaps effectively pushed him to pursue artistic studies because he was
unable to participate in most other activities. Toulouse-Lautrec eventually found
his niche in Montmarte, the bustling Bohemian neighborhood in Paris. Some of
Toulouse-Lautrec’s first subjects were the prostitutes of Montmarte, which
would lead to his later, very famous paintings and posters of Paris’ dance hall
girls.