Too much?

La Goulue arriving at Moulin Rouge by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Museum of Modern Art, New York

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was one of the best Post-Impressionist painters with some of his better known pieces being posters and lithography. Lautrec was born in France and suffered many congenital health conditions that were attributed to his parents inbreeding (they were first cousins). When he was young he broke his legs,  they didn't heal correctly and therefore stopped growing, as an adult, Lautrec was only 5 feet tall. Toulouse-Lautrec was drawn to Montmarte, an area of Paris famous for its bohemian lifestyle and for being the haunt of artists, writers, and philosophers. Although a great artist he suffered from alcoholism (his drink of choice, the "Hurricane" half absinthe half cognac), which would eventually be his cause of death at the young age of 36.

About

Welcome to Art Obsessed, here you’ll find brief, to the point posts all about art history. Part of the joy of art history is that there is no right answer. This can be frustrating, but also wonderful–it’s why ANYONE can get it. All you need are the right tools to look at art, so that instead of just passing by or glazing over a piece, you can really see it, or at least you can start to scratch the surface of what you’re looking at the next time you go to a museum or stumble across a painting you like.

Opium

 

Le Grande Odalisque by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, The Louvre

The subject's elongated proportions, reminiscent of 16th-century Mannerist painters, reflect Ingres's search for the pure form of his model. However, the painting attracted wide criticism due to this lack of realism in these proportions. But, given how the duty of concubines were merely to satisfy the carnal pleasures of the sultan, this elongation of her pelvic area may have been a symbolic distortion by Ingres.

Alone

The Star [Dancer on Stage] by Edgar Degas, Musee d'Orsay, Paris.

Degas did a large series of paintings and sculptures of ballet dancers, all levels of dancers and on the stage and behind the scenes. Regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism, but Degas preferred to call himself a realist. His ambition was to be a history painter, much like David, however, in his early thirties, he changed course, and by bringing the traditional methods of a history painter to bear on contemporary subject matter, he became a classical painter of modern life.

Honor

Oath of the Horatii by Jacques-Louis David, Musee de Louvre, Paris.

By painting an ancient historical subject, David was hoping to encourage people to look back at the ancient world and model their actions on that society which had been held-up by many at this time as an example to be emulated. This work helped launch the Neoclassical movement.

Enjoying the Weather

Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Phillips Collection.

The young woman holding the dog would eventually become Mme. Renoir and is frequently used by him as a model. Renoir was a very social person and painted scenes of the pastimes he participated in.

Dot On

Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grand Jatte by Georges Seurat, Art Institute of Chicago.

Seurat did preparatory drawings everyday for six months getting ready to paint this picture of people relaxing on a day off. The style is called Pointillism and involves using color dots to create the image. Who knows how Seurat would have refined the style he invented if he had not died at the age of 32.