Summary

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) is renowned for his paintings and posters inspired by the rowdy, edgy spectacle of entertainment in late nineteenth–century Paris. He found his subjects in the dance halls, cabarets, circuses, and brothels of the Montmartre neighborhood, where middle-class visitors came for a whiff of excitement laced with danger. His images of performers at the Moulin Rouge, Chat Noir, and other fashionable nightspots transformed the poets, singers, and dancers of Montmartre — including Aristide Bruant, Jane Avril, and Yvette Guilbert — into celebrities. This film traces the relationship between the aristocratic painter and the avant-garde culture of Montmartre, using works of art by Lautrec and his colleagues, rare archival footage and sound recordings, period photographs, and interviews with contemporary scholars.