Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa, who came from an old French aristocratic family, was born in Albi on 24 November 1864. After two serious accidents in 1878/79, his legs were crippled. He took his first drawing lessons with Princeteau, the painter of equestrian scenes. From 1882 to 1883 he studied in Paris at the studio of Bonnat, he then continued his studies with Cormon until 1885, in the company of other artists his age. There, he met Vincent van Gogh and Emile Bernard in 1886.

Toulouse-Lautrec discovered the world of entertainment of Montmartre, which had an impact on his art. In 1889/92 he took part in the exhibitions of the Salon des Indépendents. In the course of a journey to London in 1895, he met Beardsley and Wilde, whose court case he followed with disdain. He then traveled to Holland, Spain and Portugal. In 1899 he was admitted to the St. James sanatorium at Neuilly. Toulouse-Lautrec died of his alcoholism at the Château de Malromé (Gironde) on 9 September 1901.