Lautrec

The trasgressive nights in Paris were the main theme not only of Lautrec's artistic works, but also of his entire life: he spent most of his 37 years of life at the tables of clubs like the "Moulin Rouge", among alcohol and ballet dancers. Here, he used to draw many sketches of what he saw, constituing the basis of his paintings on canvas and advertisements.

Selected Works

La Goulue arrivant au Moulin Rouge - MOMA, New York

The influence of the Japanese painting in Lautrec's work can be seen in this picture. La Goulue (the Glutton) was a famous dancer of the Moulin Rouge and is portrayed with nitid and clear contour lines, like in the Japanese prints. The two women next to her are flatly cut out of the canvas, their dresses are dark and in strong contrast with La goulue's one, so that the latter results highly in evidence.

Everyone is immerged in its own thoughts and there's no communication among the characters, who suffer for the hardness of life: the clothes, colors and joy of the Moulin are just an appearance to dissimulate only desperation and death.

A few words about the music

This is an instrumental version of Gardel's "Tango Por Una Cabeza".

The lyrics of the original song talk about a compulsive horse-track gambler who compares his addiction for horses with his attraction to women. (click the following link for the full lyrics of Tango Por Una Cabeza)

The song has been featured in many popular movies and series, like Schindler's List, Scent of a Woman, True Lies, All the King's Men, Bad Santa, CSI: NY and many others