Image: public domain, courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago

At the Moulin Rouge

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1892–95

Friends, dancers and artists gather around a table at the Moulin Rouge, the famous Paris nightclub that opened in 1889. In the background you can spot the painter himself: the short man walking beside his very tall cousin.

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Did you know?

The Moulin Rouge opened in Paris in 1889, and it was built to be lit by electric light, still a novelty at the time.
Find the artist: the small figure in the background beside his tall cousin, the doctor Gabriel Tapié de Céleyran.
The woman with flaming red-orange hair, seen from behind at the table, is the famous dancer Jane Avril.
Further back, the well-known dancer La Goulue is arranging her hair.
On the right edge, the face of the English performer May Milton glows an eerie green in the harsh light.

About the artist

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901) was born into an old noble family in Albi, in the south of France, and moved to Paris in 1882 to study painting.

He became the painter of Montmartre's cabarets and dance halls, and his bold, colourful posters, starting with the first poster for the Moulin Rouge in 1891, changed the art of the poster.

He spent many evenings at the Moulin Rouge, quickly sketching the dancers and guests, and he was a good friend of Vincent van Gogh, whom he met at a Paris art studio.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ›

Where it is today: The Art Institute of Chicago · Museum page