Exhibit: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: The Birth of Modern Paris

October 21, 2023–January 14, 2024

Known internationally as one of the leading Post-Impressionists, the art of Toulouse-Lautrec explores the cabarets, race tracks, music halls, circuses, cafés and brothels of bohemian Paris of the late 19th century. Filled with empathy and humor, his images offer a captivating, nearly journalistic view of Paris in “la belle époque.” Toulouse-Lautrec: The Birth of Modern Paris features the artist’s remarkable achievements in printmaking that blend modern life with the flowing lines of Art Nouveau. Like few artists of his era, Toulouse-Lautrec blended art and life, producing theatre advertisements, book covers, invitations, café menus and lithographs without distinguishing between fine and commercial art. His famous posters that adorned the kiosks of Paris immortalized the era’s entertainers, like Loïe Fuller and Jane Avril, and will be featured alongside many original drawings—where we find the seeds of inspiration. Also featured will be more than 50 related objects from the estate of French entertainer Aristide Bruant, plus handwritten letters from Toulouse-Lautrec.

Toulouse-Lautrec: The Birth of Modern Paris is an international traveling exhibition drawn from the private holdings of the Firos Collection. Dayton Art Institute is the exclusive North American venue for Toulouse-Lautrec: The Birth of Modern Paris, alongside five venues in China and Japan.