The Life of the Characters in Henri de Toulouse Lautrec's Works

1864165438+1On the evening of October 24th, he was born at his home in Albi, Tarn province in central France. His full name is Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse Lautrec Monfa. His father was Count alfons de Toulouse-Rotleck, a cavalry officer and the owner of the Toulouse-Rotleck family. This family originated in the period of Charlemagne and is a prominent family in Toulouse. When Rotleck was a grandfather, the family business declined, and Count Rotleck only inherited about 100 hectares of wasteland, family mansion and title. After he married his cousin (Aadel of Shirelang family), he inherited two castles and a large vineyard from her family and maintained the family's survival.

Causes of disability

In order to maintain the aristocratic lineage, the Sirelang family has intermarried with the Toulouse Rotleck family for generations. /kloc-After moving to Sireland in the 0/8th century, because there was no heir, he adopted a boy from the Rotlek family in Toulouse and changed his name to Sireland. From then on, he changed his surname to Xi Leilang, and continued to intermarry with cousins throughout the ages. Therefore, there are genetic defects, which have affected Rotleck's later life. As the first heir of the family, the birth of Rotleck made the whole family feel incomparable joy. In addition, 1868, Rotlek's younger brother died before he was one year old, and the young Rotlek became the hope of the whole family, which was a collection of 3,000 pets. Even so, Rotleck's family was shrouded in gloom: the earl and his wife were not happy in marriage, because they got married at the instigation of their mother, and their relationship was very cold. Although Earl alfons was discharged from the army in 1863, like his cynical father, he went out hunting alone in the morning and didn't come home with his prey until the evening. Occasionally, he will go to Paris to stay with young officers or fashionable ladies. For him, managing housework is only a woman's business, not a man's. Therefore, the whole family's affairs, including raising young Rotleck, fall on the mother, Countess Adele: she not only bears the family's household expenses, but also devotes herself to the education of her only son, and even takes him everywhere just so that he can receive a good education. Later, Rotleck went to Paris and began his painting career. Only with the support of his mother's financial resources can he continue.

When he was a child, Rotlek's talent in painting and literature had been revealed: 1872, in order to receive a better educational environment, his mother moved to Paris with her 8-year-old family, where he taught himself many sketching and painting skills through textbooks and notebooks. 1874 After entering middle school, he published a short story in the school publication "The Story of the Hometown", which was very popular with his classmates. However, the most important thing is that during this period, he met his lifelong friend Maurice Joyoung, who will be the spiritual and career pillar of Rotek in the future.

Because of his mother's guidance and supervision, Rotleck was not interested in reading, but his grades in school were still among the best. However, due to natural weakness, he applied to drop out of middle school in the same year, and his mother took him back to his hometown in Nice to recuperate, and his homework was transferred to the supervision of his tutor and mother. Soon, the family moved back to Alberta's former residence. 1878, 14-year-old Rotlek was reunited with his family in Alberta when an accident happened: he fell from the chair in the living room, tripped over the broom under the chair and broke his left leg. To this end, his mother took him to Nice and other places to recuperate. However, the following year (1879), while walking with his mother in a nursing home, he fell into a hole one meter deep, resulting in a fracture of his right leg. Although these two accidents only caused fractures, Rotlek, who suffered from hereditary diseases, stopped the development of leg bones and became a dwarf with a height of only 150 cm. Moreover, due to the stop of foot development, the upper body continues to grow, which makes the lower body bear too much weight, making it difficult for him to walk, not to mention strenuous exercise such as riding a horse.

This is a great blow to Count Rotlek, who loves riding and hunting and looks forward to hunting less. This became another reason for him to abandon his family, and it also made him go home less. His original expectation for his son also shifted to hunting in the suburbs. For Countess Rotleck, her husband's attitude made her devote more energy to taking care of her son. She not only arranged for her son to recuperate, but also took him to Nice, Sililan and other places for treatment and life, and personally taught him Latin and English, so as not to delay his studies due to recuperation. As for Rotlek himself, because he lost the ability to move freely, his spare time turned to painting, especially his favorite scenes such as horse running, knight riding and sailing, which appeared in sketches and oil paintings during this period through his visual capture. And this also laid the foundation for becoming a painter in the future.

188 1 In July, Rotlek, who was about to reach the age of 17, went to Paris to take the college entrance examination, but he failed. So I sprinted for three months and finally got on the list in the second joint entrance examination of 1 1 month. However, Rotlek, who likes painting more than his studies, gave up his qualification to learn painting. This decision was initially opposed by the Countess of Rotleck, but with the persuasion and encouragement of her uncle, the Countess accepted his decision and sent him to Paris with his father to study in the studio of Rene Brands, a deaf-mute painter who specializes in painting animals. 1March, 882, although it was only a few months, Brands was amazed by Rotleck's mature skills in horse racing and thought that he was unable to teach, so he was introduced to the studio of the famous academic painter Leon Bohnert. Here, he was baptized by the academic painting style, and the exaggerated description in the past was somewhat restrained, coupled with the newly learned composition skills, which made his composition more profound and layered. That summer vacation, he went back to his uncle's house for a holiday and created many works. However, when he went to Paris again in September, Bona went to the Paris Institute of Art (&; EacuteCole des Beaux-Arts), the original studio has been closed. Rotleck had to go to the studio of Fernand Colmont, an academic painter who is good at historical subjects, with some students.

Although Coleman is an academic painter, his requirements are not strict, and he even encourages students to create freely. Here, Luo Lieke met Emile Bernard (&; Eacute Millay Bernard), later a famous neo-impressionist and post-impressionist painter Van Gogh, learned from these new painters, which improved Rotleck's painting skills. On the other hand, because Courmont's guidance is not strict enough, he hired a model at his own expense and made a timetable to exercise his painting skills. During this period, he worked very hard, and the results were affirmed by the teachers: Bona saw his works and decided to ask him to help complete the illustrations of victor hugo's works.

In the same period, Rotleck often went to the art gallery with his classmates to enjoy paintings, and met famous impressionist painters, such as Edward Manet, Pierre-August lenoir, Edgar Degas and others. Among them, he worships Degas. After their first meeting on 1885, Rotlek regarded him as a spiritual mentor. Influenced by Dou Jia, the theme of Rotleck's paintings has gradually changed, from traditional stories and animals to real people. Soon, he left Colmont's studio and formally took the real world as the object of painting. Being unaccustomed to life in Paris, Countess Rotleck moved to a villa in May, malraux, malraux Province. Rotleck, who lives alone, moved to the home of Albert Grenier, a classmate and good friend in the studio, because he felt lonely. Because the residence is located in Montmartre, an emerging area in the north of Paris, there are all kinds of singing and dancing places everywhere. After that, Rotlek's settlement was affected. He began to wander around local cafes and lounges, and got to know Aristide Bruant, the hotel owner and a little-known male singer. Brian introduced him to having sex with prostitutes, and Rotlek, who was rejected by many women because of his ugly figure, also found the tenderness he longed for from prostitutes. So far, he can't get rid of nightlife.

1886, Rotlek left Colmont's studio and moved out of Junior's residence. He set up his own studio in Montmartre, but he was still guided by Douga until 1888. At this time, he came into contact with 18-year-old model Mary-Kreman Valadon (painter Susanna Valadon). However, Mary just wanted to cheat him out of his money and threatened Rotleck by pretending to commit suicide. After years of entanglement, Rotlek reluctantly ended his first love at 1889 and completely broke off the relationship with her. After being lovelorn, Rotleck vented his feelings with Carmen Golding, but he was infected with syphilis, which hurt him both physically and mentally. From then on, he didn't trust any woman except his mother, and he was more addicted to Montmartre's nightlife.

Although his private life was not smooth, 1888 and 1889 were the first days of his artistic career: after 1883 and 1887 failed in Paris Salon twice, he began to show Treklow at 1888. On the contrary, I will attend Les Vingt in Brussels and the 5th Salon des refuses next year, and show myself during the exhibition. After that, his works were exhibited in the sixth, seventh and eighth sessions, and the evaluation was good, which made him gradually regarded as an important participant in the Art Nouveau movement. . During the exhibition of Twenty People, there was an episode: at the end of the exhibition, Rotlek was invited to attend the closing ceremony. However, at the ceremony, the Belgian painter Henry de Groux severely criticized Van Gogh for his ignorance and boasting. As soon as this statement came out, it immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of Van Gogh's good friend Rotleck, and threatened to beat Gru on the spot. Finally, Gru withdrew his criticism and avoided a possible bloody conflict.

But at this time, the biggest influence on Rotleck is the nightlife of the hotel. He first appeared in the mill and met the unknown dancer La Goulue. 1889, France hosted the World Expo in Paris to celebrate the centenary of the Great Revolution. In order to cope with the tourist crowd brought by the event, a new nightclub Moulin Rouge was opened, and Rotleck moved here. Because the hotel respects his noble and painter status, Rotleck is also happy to make friends with the manager and the artist Red Star in the store. 189 1 year, another new high-class hotel-Paris Casino opened. In order to compete with competitors, Moulin Rouge dug up La Goulue, Marcel Levisk, jane avril, Cha-Wu-Kao and Yvette Cuilbert. Because his posters have changed the tradition, used colorful and prominent figures, and cooperated with vivid characters, they have successfully attracted many men and women from the upper class to visit Moulin Rouge. And Rotleck's propaganda also made him a guest of Moulin Rouge. As a result, artists and guests of all kinds have become the main themes of his paintings.

Since 1892, Rotleck has another painting object, namely the prostitute in the prostitute building. At first, it was just a traffic commute, making some prostitute friends. Next year, because the doctor's roommate is getting married, in order to make room for the newlyweds, he simply moved into an apartment in Mou Lin. Unlike other men, Rotlek lived with them from the perspective of friends and observers, and recorded the real life of prostitutes outside the spring night the next night: feelings, dressing, sexual organ examination, lesbian relationship between them and so on. As an aristocrat, Rotlek not only went in and out of brothels publicly, but also often praised brothels in public.

Because of such deviant behavior, Rotlek not only became the object of discussion in the upper class, but also became the focus of attention of various media. But the media paid attention not to his paintings, but to his unexpected words and deeds and jokes, and he never responded and protested to the exaggerated reports of the media. Although everyone has a lot of views on Rotlek, these three years are also the heyday of creation, with more than 50 paintings completed.

1893, Rotlek held his first solo exhibition with the help of his friend and art dealer Maurice Jowhaan. In order to avoid unnecessary disputes, he put the works about prostitutes in the gallery on the second floor, only for a few friends and connoisseurs to visit, and other less controversial works on the first floor for the public to enjoy. Although Rotlek was not optimistic about this solo exhibition, he was unexpectedly reported and evaluated by the media, and his spiritual mentor Edgar Duga also gave great affirmation to his works, which also allowed Rotlek to hold another solo exhibition of lithographs next year. However, this solo exhibition was not very successful. In the same year, Blanche Magazine was released in Paris. At the independent art exhibition, Rotlek met writers andre gide, Paul Valéry, painter Pierre Bonnard and others, and then met two editors, Paul Le Clake and Thadée Natanson.

From 65438 to 0895, Rotleck went to London to paint portraits, visited contemporary British painters such as James Whistler, and met writers and poets such as maurice maeterlinck while visiting the circus. In the coming year, I will travel to Holland, Spain and Portugal with Qiao Huai 'an, and then go upstream along the Royal River to explore castles in central France. This year, Rotlek published an album of lithographs with prostitutes as the theme, and accepted the invitation of White Review to draw posters for the magazine with Misia Natanson, the wife of Tadi Natasson, whom he admired quite a lot.

Since 1897, Rotleck has suffered from insomnia because of writing all night. Although he was persuaded by Qiao Huai 'an, he has gradually become addicted to alcohol. He often suffers from insomnia and drinks, and even paints all night when he is drunk, which makes his already weak body worse. In order to improve this situation, Qiao Huai 'an decided to hold his third solo exhibition in London to stay away from the colorful world of Montmartre. However, this solo exhibition was not favored by the British, and it was a failure, which made Rotleck's alcoholism more serious, and even appeared mental disorders and hallucinations after returning home. Finally, after consulting with the doctor's cousin Gabriel Tapie, my mother decided to send Rotlek, who suffered from alcoholism, to a mental hospital for treatment on March 1899. At the beginning of admission, Rotlek resisted the treatment of mental hospital in every way, and wrote to his father for help, but no one paid attention. Two weeks later, he woke up and began to worry that he would be imprisoned in the hospital for life, so he took several countermeasures: on the one hand, he expressed his willingness to actively cooperate with the hospital to reduce mutual distrust, on the other hand, he asked Qiao Huai' an, who often visited the sick, to send brushes and stones, hoping to prove his good spirit with paintings. Locked in the yard, Rotlek can only paint from memory, so he created a series of lithographs, including clown performances, female animal trainers, acrobatics, comedies and so on, based on the memory of Rooney blanz, the first teacher, taking him to see the circus during his stay in Leon Bona's studio. Within 75 days of admission, * * * completed more than 50 works, 30 of which were selected and made into lithographs, which finally made him leave the mental hospital. After leaving the hospital, Rotleck went to Normandy accompanied by his distant relative Viod, and then went to le havre for sightseeing. Later, I returned to my mother's villa, malraux, in May, and 10 went to Paris again after the harvest of my mother's vineyard. Worried that Rotleck would indulge in wine country again, his friends specially took him to the local clothing street. This time, he met a seamstress 18 years old, louise blouet. Although she is already taken, Rotlek, who is disappointed with women, seldom shows emotion. She has completed an oil painting and two sketches as a model.

1900, the World Expo held again in Paris invited Rotleck to be a painting judge, but he refused, but he went to visit in a wheelchair. He didn't finish any related works because he didn't particularly like them. Soon, he got into the habit of drinking again, and even his colleague Vio couldn't dissuade him, which made his health worse. In May, he visited Normandy again with Vio. In order to thank his distant relative, he wrote his masterpiece Admiral Viod with Vio as the object. In June, due to economic reasons, he canceled his trip to Paris and went directly from Normandy to Bordeaux, where he became fascinated with the opera Mesalina and completed six related paintings. /kloc-in October/February, Rotlek returned to malraux May, but he recovered after electrotherapy due to congestion of his feet and paralysis of his lower body, but his condition was very serious.

1901April15th, Rotlek went to Paris for the last time and visited his old friends in Paris. Everyone knows that his time is not far away. This is a farewell trip, so apart from being sentimental, he also took him to visit the old place. He also cleaned up his studio and finished the prefect Vio and his last work, An Examination in Medical College. In July, under the tears of his friends, Rotleck returned to Toulouse, but suddenly he was paralyzed when he came back. On August 20th, his mother, Countess Rotleck, took him back to malraux Mei's villa. At this time, Rotlek's condition deteriorated rapidly, and it was impossible to create anything except a little modification. At 2: 00 a.m. 15 a.m. on September 9, Rotlek died at the age of 36 under the watchful eyes of his family and several friends.

19 12, Maurice Qiao Huai' an edited and published The Biography of Rotleck. Most of his works were kept by his parents and were not donated to Mairie Albi until 1922. The museum has set up the Le Musée Toulouse Lautrec to display these works, which is still the place with the largest collection of Rottrec's works.