Jane Avril enter the Moulin Rouge 1892

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec made this pastel on cardboard depicting Jane Avril entering the Moulin Rouge. The Moulin Rouge was a famous cabaret in late 19th-century Paris. Lautrec had been commissioned to make posters for the Moulin Rouge. His images of the entertainers, like Avril, helped to create their celebrity. These lithographic posters were plastered all over Paris, contributing to the vibrant visual culture of the modern city. Here, Avril is portrayed as an independent, modern woman, someone who earned a living in the public sphere, outside of traditional domestic roles. The Moulin Rouge itself was a commercial venture, and its popularity reflected new patterns of consumption and leisure in urban society. It catered to a diverse clientele from different social classes. As historians, we might look at other images, printed ephemera, and business records to understand the relationship between art, entertainment, and commerce in this period. Ultimately, art history depends on understanding social and institutional contexts.