Toulouse-Lautrec and the Spirit of Montmartre. CaixaForum Barcelona
17.10.18
2 minutes readIn 1880, Montmartre was a poor, marginal place that did not even form part of Paris. However, in a relatively short span of time, the area was transformed into the literary and artistic centre of the French capital. ”la Caixa” Foundation presents Toulouse-Lautrec and the Spirit of Montmartre, an unprecedented exhibition in our country that explores the main features of radical French art in the late-nineteenth century. The “spirit” referred to in the title was a feeling, an avant-garde mentality that infused the work of many artists of the time. Outstanding among these was Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who played a key role, introducing extraordinary aesthetic advances.
Through 345 works loaned by collections from around the world, the show examines the rich exchanges that took place among a score of like-minded artists during Toulouse-Lautrec’s short lifetime and a brief period thereafter.
The exhibition also illustrates the vital role that ephemeral artistic productions -etchings, posters, illustrations for books and the press, designs for music scores and so on- played in the careers of Toulouse-Lautrec and his contemporaries: all this provided them with the means of reaching wider audiences and earning a living outside the restrictive academic system.
Toulouse-Lautrec and the Spirit of Montmartre. Dates: From 18 October 2018 to 2 January 2019. Place: CaixaForum Barcelona (Av. de Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, 6-8).
