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| Lautrec frequented the Moulin Rouge and other cabarets of the Montmartre district of Paris, as well as the theater, the circus, and brothels. While most of his work is typically associated with the latter, like many of his contemporaries, he was deeply influenced by the circus.
The colorful gaiety of the typical 19th century circus was a perfect match for Lautrec. His brilliant use of color and sometimes distorted figures fit perfectly with the environs of the circus. At the Nouveau Cirque: The Dancer and Five Stuffed Shirts, 1891 Chau-U-Kao Fastening her Bodice, 1895 |
 Au Cirque Fernando: l'Ecuyere (The Ringmaster), 1888
Chau-U-Kao, The Chinese Clown, 1895
The Seated Clowness - Mademoiselle Cha-U-Kao, 1896 |
| By 1899, Lautrec's habits of frequenting the liveliest venues in Paris and over-indulging in alcohol were affecting his health. Because of his hallucinations and violent behavior, his mother has him interned in a clinic. The press was unkind and several newspapers launched assumptions of Lautrec's madness. In answer and with the help of friends, Lautrec managed to get art materials and lithograph stones and went on to produce over fifty drawings, many of these based on his experiences with the circus.
Remarkably, these careful renderings of the performers in the ring were executed from memory. Lautrec, with his typical humor, dubbed the clinic where he was interned "Madrid -les-Bains" and inscribed the drawing "Clown Trainer" with "Madrid, Easter, 1899, to Arsène Alexandre, in memory of my captivity". It is not necessarily ironic that Toulouse-Lautrec should have turned to the circus as a subject at this point in his life. Despite the real but superficial gaiety of these scenes, Lautrec identified with the frequently unstable and itinerant lifestyle of the circus performers, and their freakish status in society. The drawings shown below are only a portion of the suite he finished while in the clinic. This is a tribute to Lautrec's superior skill and refutes the claims of his insanity. Lautrec died shortly thereafter, at age 36. |
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