Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), scion of an ancient aristocratic family, was a crippled dwarf. His familys wealth gave him financial security, and he chose to become an artist. In Paris he was drawn to the world of the In the cafes, cabarets, dance halls and brothels he observed the theatre of life, viewing this world not from the moralizing standpoint of the 19th-century bourgeoisie, but with the eyes of one for whom all inhibitions had long since vanished. Lautrec had the gift of painting life as it is. No one else has captured the entertainment world of the belle poque in so unadulterated, so masterful and so timelessly true a manner as did Lautrec in his paintings, lithographs and posters. This monograph sets out to examine the close relations between Lautrec work and life. It thereby offers the reader a lively impression of Lautrec art, and at the same time provides an understanding of his private life and of the magnificent Paris of the belle poque.