Toulouse-Lautrec is one of the most interesting
figures of the fin de siecle France, the turn
of the century France, 19th and 20th century.
He was a painter, he was an illustrator, a
printmaker. He was quite a versatile man.
He became disabled at an early age on, in
his teens. We've got many paintings and drawings,
posters from him, and prints from him. He
lived around Montmartre, often visited prostitutes
and was getting involved in all kind of night
scenes. Kind of dining, what we can see right
here. It's called Ces Dames, these women.
What we can see on the painting as well. We
can see with simple drawing lines, different
facial structures and in a simple way, with
a few lines, he can characterize his faces
so well that all these faces are very individualistic,
meaning that those are different individuals
who are very much involved in a conversation.
We can sense the atmosphere, and I think what
he's so great with and he's so great about,
the simplicity but expressivity at the same
time.