Moulin de la Galette

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864–1901) · 1889

With this painting of the dance hall known as the Moulin de la Galette, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec established his reputation as the chronicler of the Montmartre district’s famed nightlife. A wooden barrier bisects the composition, dividing the frenzied action of the dance floor in the background from the stillness of the women waiting in the foreground. Toulouse-Lautrec used turpentine to thin his paint and applied it in loose washes, a technique known as peinture à l’essence. The result is a sketchy style that conveys both the immediacy of the artist’s observations and the tawdry atmosphere of his subject.

Artist

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864–1901)

Date

1889

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

88.5 × 101.3 cm (35 7/8 × 39 5/8 in.); Framed: 109.3 × 123.2 × 12.1 cm (43 × 48 1/2 × 4 3/4 in.)

Credit

Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Larned Coburn Memorial Collection

Open-access artwork courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago. Mooseium is not affiliated with or endorsed by this institution.