International Symposium on Chinese Ceramics

Book excerpt: The iconic images of Parisian nightlife created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) became a hallmark of the bohemian lifestyle in fin-de-siècle Paris. A man born into aristocracy but handicapped by his physical disability, Toulouse-Lautrec immersed himself in his radical art and found company in avant-garde artists, dancers, and other social outcasts in Montmartre, Paris's district of pleasure. His widely popular prints of those otherwise marginalized by society captured the nonconformist spirit of the Belle Epoque (1871-1914). While the formal influence of Japanese prints-flat forms, cropped compositions, and vibrant colors-on Toulouse-Lautrec and his contemporaries has been well studied, the shared anti-establishment hedonism that underlies both Japanese prints and Toulouse-Lautrec's work has not been examined in tandem. Rather than focusing on the visual connections between French and Japanese prints, Renegade Edo and Paris highlights the social impulses-pleasure seeking, theater going-that led to the tremendous print production in both Paris and Edo (present-day Tokyo). Drawing from the Seattle Art Museum's Japanese prints collection and from one of the most extensive private holdings of Toulouse-Lautrec prints, this catalogue presents more than 60 works to offer a critical look at the renegade spirit that permeates both Japanese prints and Toulouse-Lautrec's work