How Did Toulouse Lautrec Sign His Work?

Knowing how Toulouse Lautrec signed his work can be important if you are an art collector or simply if you are curious. Often hailed as one of the greatest painters that produced work during the post-impressionist era, Henri de Toulouse Lautrec had a unique way of creating art that was referred to as decadent for its time. Lautrec also had a unique way of letting whoever admired his artwork know it was him who created it.

When looking for a Toulouse Lautrec, you can tell one of his paintings not only by his often provocative style, but also by his trademark circle which contained a conglomeration of his initials.

• The T was to the left of the circle’s center, with the L just to the right.
• The vertical points of each letter were joined by a single horizontal line, creating an H between the two other letters, bearing the initials HTL. 

Artwork of Toulouse Lautrec

Knowing how Toulouse Lautrec signed his work is important because his work is very valuable:

• Artwork bearing this master’s signature and style has sold for very large amounts of money.
• At one auction, there was an asking price of $25,000 dollars for a simple sketch of a masked man holding an upturned brimmed hat.
• One of his masterpieces, “La Blanchisseuse”, was sold at a 2005 auction held at Christie’s auction house for just over $22 million dollars.

Inspirations and Artistry

Toulouse Lautrec's work was often inspired by dance and performances. In particular, the Moulin Rouge was often credited with being one of the most important inspirations in his artwork, and he actually painted some of the performance posters for the venue.  Of course, he also had other influences as well:

• Lautrec started to create his first sketches at the age of eight years old, when he and his mother moved to Paris after the divorce of his parents.
• The divorce came on the heels of his younger brother dying before reaching the age of one, after which Lautrec was mostly cared for by a housemaid, his nanny, until he and his mother moved.
• It was his introduction to Paris and the culture abounding in the community that inspired him to capture the images he saw on paper.
• He was also given informal lessons from a professional artist named Rene Princeteau until his mother realized that Lautrec had health issues. 

Toulouse Lautrec's Life

Toulouse Lautrec was the offspring of a lineage of inbreeders, with both of his grandmothers being sisters.

• While there is no evidence that he had any sort of mental disorders or disabilities as a result of this, his symptoms were purely physical.
• His growth had stunted, and his legs hadn’t grown properly after he broke them at the ages of 13 and 14.
• Because of this, he wasn’t able to participate in many of the other community events of the time, such as different sports, so Lautrec threw himself completely into his art.

He has a portfolio which speaks as much for itself today as it did while he was still alive.