A Montrouge
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, 1886. OIL ON CANVAS.
Born into aristocracy but shunned for his disabilities, Toulouse-Lautrec retreated into the underbelly of society, and shone a light on the darkness of glamour at the heart of Paris. In the Cabaret shows that he frequented, alongside a group of outcasts, hustlers, performers and runaways, one of the performers sung stories of the character Rosa La Rouge. A murderous prostitute who tormented Paris, this fictional figure became embedded in Toulouse-Lautrec’s mind and he painted her here, using his favourite model Carmen Gaudin. He works like a filmmaker, capturing her in movement and motion, her hair obscuring her eyes and a sharp chin that points outward menacingly. There is little judgement in the oil, but nor is there celebration; his imagined image of this maligned figure is treated with dignity and respect. The painting hung in the same nightclub that the Cabarets featuring La Rouge were performed in, the large scale of the work haunting the venue like a spectre.