Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

In 1891, the star of the Moulin Rouge was Louise Weber, known as La Goulue. She was an eccentric woman with a scandalous charm, a cancan dancer who spoke with unabashed wit. With her spectacular petticoats, which she twirled around her thighs, she had the whole of Paris at her feet. Toulouse-Lautrec was commissioned to design the poster for her show. It was a major first for him. He depicted La Goulue in the midst of a Chahut, a type of cancan that was very much in vogue at the time. The dancer’s white petticoat and golden chignon captured everyone’s attention. In the foreground stands the greyed silhouette of her dance partner, Valentin le Désossé, the famous dancer and contortionist. In the background, a garland of spectators stands out as silhouettes, whilst stylised halos of light illuminate the hall. Unlike Jules Chéret and his successors, Toulouse-Lautrec pared his composition down to the bare minimum. He retained only the essential elements that would make it a success: simplified forms, a lively line, a whimsical framing of the figures, broad areas of colour outlined in black, and a monogram reminiscent of the Japanese prints that were all the rage at the time. When the poster appeared in the city, it was a resounding success. Within a few hours, it secured the fame of Toulouse-Lautrec, whose modernity fascinated his contemporaries. Having died at the age of 36, this brilliant artist produced only 32 posters amongst his many masterpieces, yet he nonetheless revolutionised the art of advertising.

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