Late at night in the Moulin Rouge cabaret in Paris, a group of regulars chat around a table, a dancer fixes her hair at a mirror, and at the right a face lit a ghostly green by the stage lights bursts into the picture. Toulouse-Lautrec painted himself into the background, recording the gaiety and emptiness of Belle Époque nightlife with a sharp eye.
Key facts
- Artist
- Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec1864–1901 · French
- Date
- 1892–1895
- Period
- Post-Impressionism1886–1905
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 123 × 141 cm
- Location
- Art Institute of Chicago Chicago, United States
Actual size
Compared with an adult 170 cm tall
Palette
#403423#6A4A11#574E34#6D6748#2C2216Background
The Moulin Rouge opened in Montmartre in 1889, its red windmill becoming the emblem of Paris nightlife. Toulouse-Lautrec was a regular and had a table reserved for himself.
In 1891 his lithographic poster Moulin Rouge: La Goulue appeared overnight all over Paris, making his name and turning the poster into an art form.
Many of the figures can be identified: at the table are friends including the writer Édouard Dujardin and the orange-haired dancer La Macarona; . The painting is in the Art Institute of Chicago.
Technique & composition
A cuts in from the lower left, keeping us outside the table as if we had just walked into the hall. The asymmetrical, cropped composition shows the influence of Degas and Japanese prints.
is lit a ghastly green by artificial light, her lips bright red, in stark contrast to the dark tones around. Toulouse-Lautrec used exaggerated colour to capture the strange light of gas and electric lamps.
Details
Symbolism
Loneliness amid the crowd
Everyone sits around the table, yet each looks in a different direction; there is no real contact. Behind the gaiety lies the alienation and emptiness of modern city life.
The painter himself
are the painter and his cousin Gabriel Tapié de Céleyran. The diminutive Toulouse-Lautrec cast himself as an onlooker, coolly observing the world he loved.
Stories
- Did you know?
The L-shaped section at the right with the green-faced woman was at one time cut off, perhaps to make the painting easier to sell; it was later reattached, and the seam can still be seen.
- Did you know?
hint at the drinking culture of the time. Toulouse-Lautrec himself drank heavily, and alcoholism eventually destroyed his health.
Legacy
At the Moulin Rouge is one of the most famous images of Belle Époque nightlife. Toulouse-Lautrec's bold composition, flat colour and economical line deeply influenced modern graphic design, posters and illustration.
