Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

1864 - 1901

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was born to a wealthy aristocratic family. He suffered from an inherited condition that caused his bones to break easily. When he was young, he broke both his legs. The bones never healed properly and his legs stopped growing, leaving him crippled. He turned his energies to drawing and painting. At 17, he moved to Paris and found friends among artists and entertainers. For almost 20 years, he painted at a feverish pace, producing hundreds of paintings, posters and prints. During that time, he also drank heavily. His alcoholism contributed to his early death at 36.