Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec watercolor and oil paint ‘Derrière les coulisses de Montmartre’ Original and semi finished work in excellent condition Paper slightly discolored (yellowish) - still bright colors for the painting Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist, and illustrator whose immersion in the colorful and theatrical life of Paris in the late 19th century allowed him to produce a collection of enticing, elegant, and provocative images of the modern, sometimes decadent, affairs of those times. In addition to his growing alcoholism, Toulouse-Lautrec also frequented prostitutes. He was fascinated by their lifestyle and the lifestyle of the “urban underclass” and incorporated those characters into his paintings. Lautrec was too proud to submit to his lot, as a physical freak, an aristocrat cut off from his kind by his grotesque appearance. He found an affinity between his condition and the moral penury of the prostitute.” The girls in the brothels inspired Toulouse-Lautrec. He would frequently visit one located in Rue d’Amboise, where he had a favorite called Mireille. He created about a hundred drawings and fifty paintings inspired by the life of these women. Comes with a copy (due to multiple purchases) COA from the US auction house OK Harris, New York Size: 21,2 x 31,3 cm Absolute mint condition