He was active in Paris, where he painted entertainers and prostitutes in a style characterized by strong colours, bold design, and brilliant technical skill. From 1891 his lithographic posters were a great success, skilfully executed and yet retaining the spontaneous character of sketches. His later work was to prove vital to the development of poster art. Toulouse Lautrec was born in Albi in SW France, a descendant of the ancient counts of Toulouse, son of Comte Alphonse de Toulouse=Lautrec and the Comtesse Adele. He broke both legs in boyhood, as a result of which he was stunted in growth. Art may have been a compensation. His main activity as an artist belongs to the decade 1885{nd}95, when his life revolved round Montmartre, Paris. At home in society of every kind, he drew and observed in the cafe{acute}s, cabarets, and maisons closes (brothels), giving a wonderful picture of what has been called "midnight civilization". Among his cast of characters are Yvette Guilbert, La Goulue, Valentin, Chocolate the Negro dancer, and Jane Avril. He was influenced by Degas, and brilliantly adapted the design and technique of the Japanese print to his own purpose in colour lithography, his posters for the Moulin Rouge and other resorts being classics of their kind. The usual oil method of painting does not seem to have been congenial to him, and he was interested neither in light nor form as such, but in the intensity of mood and expression that he conveyed. In 1899 his health broke down and he was sent to a sanatorium. There he drew and painted from memory the series <art>Au Cirque</art>. In 1901, nearing final collapse, he joined his mother at the family cha{circ}teau, where he died aged 37.
