Toulouse-Lautrec: Obsessions

Though Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901) is beloved and widely recognized, he remains an enigmatic figure in the history of art. This exhibition offers a fresh take on this extraordinary artist by looking at his complex inner world through paintings, drawings, and prints. A radical nonconformist, he moved between the aristocratic world he was born into and the countercultural nightlife of Paris he loved. While his art captures the decadence of the era, more somber factors shaped his brief life: his physical disabilities, mental-health challenges, and addictions. Toulouse-Lautrec: Obsessions examines the strangeness of his portrayals, the sympathy he felt for those pushed to the margins of the modern city, and his bold, experimental approach to art. Guided by his obsessions with certain subjects and techniques — which he called his furias — the exhibition explores themes of celebrity, intimacy, marginalization, and memory.