A premier French Post-Impressionist painter, printmaker, and draftsman. Born into an ancient aristocratic family, he chose to live among the bohemian community of Paris, becoming the defining visual chronicler of late 19th-century Montmartre. Lautrec captured the candid, unvarnished atmosphere of cabarets (most notably the Moulin Rouge), dance halls, theaters, and brothels. Approaching his subjects with psychological insight rather than moral judgment, he revolutionized color lithography and poster design. His signature technique—using turpentine-thinned oil paints on raw cardboard (peinture à l'essence)—helped lay the foundations for Art Nouveau and modern graphic design.