Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, born in Albi, was in love with Montmartre. Lautrec, a victim from infancy of a disease that punished his bones day and night and arrested the growth of his legs, making him short and deformed, found relief in the cafés of Montmartre!

It was in these cafés that he met his muse, La Goulue. When the Moulin Rouge arrived on the scene he attended the show every evening, drawing the dancers and customers from the corner of a table, accompanied by his eternal glass of absinthe!
He was a privileged witness to the life of the Moulin Rouge, since he was the pet of the cancan dancers, who dubbed him ‘the little guy!’.

In 1891, he drew the first advertising poster for the Moulin Rouge, which today remains the best known image of the Moulin Rouge around the world.
He painted Montmartre, the cancan and the Moulin Rouge and, thanks to his canvasses, enabled a whole village to experience immortality!