TOULOUSE-LAUTREC & BELLE EPOQUE IN PARIS AND ATHENS

Focusing on a rare unit of approximately 100 original works on paper by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, the exhibition organizers attempted to place these works in the historical, social, artistic and aesthetic context of their time (1880-early 20th century). At the same time, a brief approach to the prevailing historical and artistic conditions of urban Athens at the same time was attempted, with the aim of demonstrating the effects of French Belle Époque on Athenian social and artistic life and identifying some obvious correspondences.  

Lautrec’s original works presented in the exhibition (advertising posters, engravings and drawings), draw their subject matter for Parisian everyday life and entertainment. Advertisements of nightclubs or pamphlets, which are some of the best-known compositions of the great French artist, coexist with portraits of well-known actors and singers of his time, as well as cartoons and caricatures. Lautrec’s works are framed by selected French literary passages, photographs and other factual elements that attempt to hold the viewer to have a better understanding of the atmosphere of the time.

Lautrec is known for his works depicting scenes from cabarets, theaters, ballrooms and prostitution. These places the artist lived closely, in the beginning of 1885 when he moved to Montmartre and immersed himself in its nightlife, he wanted to present life as it is and not as it should be, but this objectivity was expressed with understanding and humor. He was interested in creating portraits, not only of those he met during his nocturnal wanderings in the city, but also of his friends, as well as of the working class people of Paris. He was an industrious artist, who used a wide range of media to produce a huge number of works.

The brief attempt to combine the Parisian with the Athenian Belle Époque arose from the need to present some obvious influences of the former of the latter. With the help of rare archival material that comes mainly from the collections of the Greek Literary and Historical Archive, urban habits and modes of entertainment during the last twenty years of the 19th century in Greece product advertisements, often designed by important Greek artists such as N. Gyzis and D. Galanis. Diary covers, photographs and postcards, theater programs with an emphasis on the French repertoire and literary passages, invite the visitor to enter a charming fragrance of the Age.

BELLE EPOQUE IN PARIS AND ATHENS

 In the 1880s, the majority of France’s population was rural, but it was slowly emerging from its isolation thanks to an extensive railway network. It was a period of significant industrial development and colonial expansion, while important educational reforms were also introduced. Paris presented a conflicting image on the one hand open-mouthed and dangerous, on the other hand, happy and full of the music coming from cabarets and the colors of Lautrec. The nouveau riche made their appearance. New Art Nouveau buildings were built in the galleries Lafayette department store. For most of the people, Belle Époque in Paris is characterized by the Moulin Rouge and its protagonists, Aristide Bruant and Lautrec.

For Athens, 1880s were a period of extraordinary prosperity. The city benefited from Greece’s political stability and economic progress, which was supported by the favorable international economic environment and the success of the country’s raisin exports. By the end of the decade, the city has exceeded 100,000 inhabitants and, lacking an urban plan, its infrastructure proved inadequate. However, Athens was also mirror of the country, and the first Olympic games of modern Greece in 1896 provided a prime opportunity for the city project the nation’s perceptions of Art and Architecture. The Athenians adopted the neoclassicism of monumental architecture and in the construction of their houses. The busy Syntagma and Omonoia squares were the main centers of the city’s public life, while the extension of the railway network from Kifissia to Faliro offered new opportunities to escape from the tensions of everyday life. In the 1890s, the country entered a period of economic and political crisis. The recovery of the first years of the 20th century followed, but it ended with the hardships brought by the First World War.

Henri-Marie-Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa

 Henri-Marie-Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa was born on 24 November 1864 in Albi, France. His Father was an eccentric aristocrat who liked to disguise himself and whose main interest were hunting. His mother was a conservative and cultured woman with whom the artist remained close until the end of his life. Toulouse-Lautrec was never to enjoy riding and hunting, which were his family’s favorite hobbies. The lacerations he suffered in both legs at the ages 13-14, combined with a congenital bone health problem, led to the abnormal development of his body. Specifically, his legs stopped growing unlike the rest of his body. For this reason, he used a cane to walk and his height did not exceed 1.52 m. His mother encouraged him to be engaged in painting. The first subjects he depicted were his family, their horses and hounds. The artist received his first painting lessons from a friend of his father, who convinced Lautrec’s parents to study Art. After receiving his Baccalaureate in Paris, he apprenticed for a few months in the studio of Leon Bonnat in the spring of 1882and a little later, in the studio of Fernand Cormon, a history painter who was particularly interested in the ancient world. In 1898, the artist’s health began to deteriorate, due to alcohol abuse and syphilis. In 1899, after an attack of tremulous delirium, he spent a few months in a clinic, but on his return to Paris, he began to drink again. This fact also had consequences on his work. In August 1901, Lautrec suffered a paralytic attack and was taken to his mother’s country house in Malrome, where he died on 9 September.