For his contemporaries, Lautrec was not only a poster artist but also a renowned portrait painter. The title of his major solo exhibition in London, in 1898, was “Portraits and Other Works”. Avoiding the constraints of commissioned portraits, he was guided by his fantasies and friendships. Painted, drawn or engraved, he tackled portraiture in all its forms.

“Although he included areas of countryside or garden here and there in his paintings, it was always in order to accompany a portrait. /.../ He was only really interested in the movement and life of living beings, not things.” These lines by André Rivoire are extracts from the long article which he devoted to Toulouse-Lautrec in the Revue de l’art ancient et modern on the day after the artist’s death. This text, punctuated with personal observations, reveals a sincere friendship and an understanding of the man and his work.

I. C.