Best known for his art depicting scenes from cabarets, theaters, dance halls, and brothels, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec lived and worked in France. Toulouse-Lautrec and His World features approximately 150 works on paper. While in Paris, Toulouse-Lautrec spent his mornings practicing academic drawing, his afternoons visiting salons and museums, and his evenings frequenting riotous nightclubs such as the Moulin Rouge. Throughout his brief lifetime he produced promotional posters and illustrated theater programs, book covers, menus, and other ephemera. His art was based on the social scenes and experiences that he himself lived through, and his interest lay in portraying people from all walks of life.

Curated at the Herakleidon Museum, in Athens, Greece, this exhibition showcases works rarely seen outside of Europe, with the Flint Institute of Arts being the only Midwestern venue to present this collection. The exhibition features a rare collection of original works on paper, including a number of Toulouse-Lautrec’s posters and sketches of famous actors and singers, as well as his friends and working-class Parisians.

Toulouse-Lautrec is best known for his works depicting scenes from cabarets, theaters, dance halls, and brothels. These were themes that the artist lived, beginning in 1885 when he moved to Montmartre and immersed himself in its nightlife. He wanted to show life as it is, not as it should be, but this objectivity was not without empathy or humor. His interest lay in portraying people, not only those he met during his nights on the town, but also his friends and the working-class citizens of Paris. He was a hard-working artist, producing an enormous body of work in a wide range of media.