THE TRAGIC LIFE OF TOULOUSE-LAUTREC

by Lawrence & Elizabeth Hanson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 16, 1956

With the publication of this, the Hansons add yet another to their list of biographies which has included impressive works on Chinese Gordon, Jane Carlyle, and the painters Van Gogh and Gauguin. This too might be said to complete a trilogy on the three most outstanding artist personalities in Europe at the turn of the century. As in the other studies, there is evidence of diligent research with an ability to recreate the man and his work in pertinent and readable terms, sparing little either in their psychological analysis of character, their analysis of art or the vivid portrayal of surroundings and events and combining all three as integral parts of a total picture. From the start it is true tragedy, with the touches of the comic that recall a sad clown's humor. An introductory sketch of the Toulouse-Lautrec heritage-proud and energetic, gives the first heightened sense of the fiery, pitiable dwarf their son was to become. Born weak, Henri was poor in the quality that might have made him a different man- physical ability- and his condition despite constant care went from bad to worse until, at eighteen, the knowledge that he would be a disfigured dwarf became a crushing reality. He had to make up for it with an indomitable and spirited energy and of course, his ability to draw. Art school, the life of Paris and the crust of dandyism he formed to protect himself were natural outcomes. For the next dozen years he lived as the oddity of Montmartre- shuffling about with his case, peering through the pince-nez, sitting night after night at the cafes, befriending the prostitutes of the maison closes, drinking for the heightened perceptions and emotions that allowed him to give the quality of vicariously enjoyed action to his pictures, and painting, painting, painting- Jane Avril, the horse races, La Gouloue, Aristide Bruant, and the rest. It was only until 1901 that Toulouse-Lautree lived, as the joke of Paris. He never ceased to produce great quantities of work, until he was taken to an asylum with delirium tremens and died months later of a stroke. More a psychological than an artistic study, this affords rich material and provides an antidote to recent fictionalized accounts.

Pub Date: June 16, 1956

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1956

Categories: NONFICTION