A Delightful Example of Living with Fine Art

The coolest part about being a professional art installer is that every once in awhile I get to see an original piece by an artist whom I've admired for a long time.

​Like these two drawings which we (very carefully) hung onto wallpaper a few weeks back.

They are studies by the famous post-Impressionist painter Toulouse Lautrec. How exciting!

Most people are familiar with Lautrec through his famous posters for the Moulin Rouge and other nightclubs in Paris, like the two posters below which are often reproduced.

They're still astonishingly modern even 130-odd years later. Try to imagine how daring these must have been to Victorian eyes.

You can see the influence of the newly-imported Japanese woodblock prints which were popular at the time. Notice the flattened layouts and emphasis on line or shape instead of three-dimensional form. (The art of Japan made a big splash with the Impressionists and post-Impressionists; Vincent Van Gogh was also a big fan, and even made copies of his favorite pieces.)

Toulouse Lautrec frequented the Parisian underworld and captured its essence in his paintings, but what I find compelling is that he saw more than just the risqué nature of the nightlife.

For one thing, he had an astonishing talent for caricature, like this one of the red-headed Mlle. Marcelle Lender.

It also seems that he had a streak of tenderness for his subjects. For example, the painting below of two young "ladies of the night" shows them resting peacefully in bed, cuddled into big soft pillows and with a warm counterpane drawn over them.

In spite of their interesting profession, he shows them not as semi-nude objects to be admired or lusted after, but as ordinary people with only their faces showing. It almost looks like they have gone to bed in order to stay warm, as poor people might do in the dead of winter.

​Cozy, but with a hint of sadness.

But his circus paintings are where Lautrec really shines for me. He makes heavy use of the long arc of the circus ring, which gives a graceful feeling to the series.

And that's why it was so fun to see Lautrec's drawings in real life. It's fascinating to see how the artist's techniques carry over from the initial sketches to the final composition.

​Here's another one from the same job, which we installed in the homeowner's dressing room where she could see it every morning. Look how the round ring gives a "path" for the horse to follow in both pictures. This one is a little sketchier and cruder than the others, and the forms are less developed, but it has a great sense of lightness and fun.

Living with good art every day is a rewarding experience. It's not like music, which demands  your attention and is over too soon. Instead, it's a slow experience that unfolds over time and lends the little grace notes to your day.

But you don't have to invest in original art to make your home exciting to live in. We install all kinds of pieces, whether they're from famous post-Impressionism artists or your kids' pre-Kindergarten class.

​Because if you love it, it's beautiful.

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