The Easel

Toulouse-Lautrec, Chronicler of the Belle Epoque

A wonderful phrase describes Toulouse-Lautrec – “argonaut of the boulevards”. Celebrities, cabaret lowlife, the street – that was his milieu. Toulouse-Lautrec’s eye for the characteristic gesture and instinct for attention-grabbing colour brought instant success. His work resonates still with today’s celebrity obsession. “One of the creators of modernism itself”.