{A French Affair}

 "Jane Avril au Jardin de Paris, 1893."

Poster by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.



Last week I attended an event at The Courtauld Gallery, featuring a night of French flare – music, dancing and Toulouse-Lautrec. 

Located just past the hubbub of Trafalgar Square, this small museum might just be my favorite in London.  The gallery’s rooms, homes to the works of Rubens, Van Gogh, and Manet, among many other famed artists, are actually works of art themselves, given their painted walls, intricate white moldings and ceiling murals.

This summer, The Courtauld Gallery proudly presented Toulouse-Lautrec and Jane Avril: Beyond the Moulin Rouge – an exhibition that I was thrilled to catch.  I am a huge fan of Toulouse-Lautrec, ever since college, after I studied his works for a graphic design class.  His figurative studies, color combinations, and depictions of Paris’s bohemian nightlife in the 19^th century continually romance me.  Having attended this exhibition, I have a new appreciation for his works and a further understanding of his subjects – specifically that of Jane Avril. 

Jane Avril, a frequent muse to Toulouse-Lautrec, was a prominent can-can dancer at the Moulin Rouge.  Toulouse-Lautrec, an aristocratic trained artist, was hired to paint adverts for the nightclub.  His carefully constructed depictions of the dancer catapulted her into stardom.  However, aside from the Moulin Rouge’s posters, Toulouse-Lautrec also painted various portraits of the dancer, both in the club and in her home, proving an inherent intimacy.  The artist and dancer were depicted in various group portraits together as well, further showcasing that their kinship was beyond a working relationship. 

Although tickets are no longer available to this exhibit, I want to share with you a brief but fascinating article from the gallery that highlights their research and insights into this “new found” relationship.

{Beyond the Moulin Rouge}

With this all this information, one has to wonder… what drew the artist and dancer together?  A love to party?  A romantic spark?  A je ne sais quoi?

Having perused the collection, it occurred to me that both Toulouse-Lautrec and Avril suffered from debilitating physical ailments – he from bone development issues; her from a neurologic disorder.  While each was drawn to the glamour of boho Paris, each identified with a deeper understanding of life and its challenges.  It seems almost natural that she, who is famed for her legs, and he, who is famed for his hands, would bond to together as kindred spirits.

And with that thought, I moved along through the gallery and lost myself at At The Moulin Rouge.

"At the Moulin Rouge, 1892-95." Painting by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.