Throughout his life, Lautrec had a close relationship with photography.

Since he was in the cradle Lautrec was taken to the photographer’s, at a time when instant cameras hadn’t been invented. We can follow Henri’s life photo by photo practically year by year. There is no doubt that, sharp-witted and curious, he developed a passion for photography at a very young age.

He often had his photo taken later on in life, notably by Sescau, for whom he was to make a poster. Henri even tried his hand at photographic effects and represented himself in double, painting and posing at the same time. Photography helped him to capture “life” as he put it. He also said “I don’t want to make things beautiful, I want to make them real”. When painting Hélène V of Kunsthalle de Brême’s portrait for example, he used a photograph. Henri didn’t trust imagination, he needed real life subjects, and if they weren’t available a photograph would do!