TOULOUSE-LAUTREC HENRI DE: (1864-1901) French Painter and Illustrator. An exceptional, early illustrated A.L.S. ...

TOULOUSE-LAUTREC HENRI DE: (1864-1901) French Painter and Illustrator. An exceptional, early illustrated A.L.S., Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, four pages, 8vo, Maison Gradet, Bareges, Hautes-Pyrenees, n.d. [August 1879], to his Great Aunt ('Ma chere Tante'), in French. The teenage Toulouse-Lautrec informs his Aunt that 'We arrived last night after a very good but somewhat hot trip. Our car was full almost all the time. There was a baby who was also going to the pilgrimage and changed his clothes from time to time and who knocked over a large glass of wine with his fists' adding 'We have been to the grotto several times and we have not forgotten you with the Blessed Virgin'. The future artist continues 'On Sunday at Vespers we sang very well and a good parish priest read us the story of a miracle, but he spoiled his speech by adding that since the event which took place last year the person who received the miracle had gained twenty pounds in weight…..We left the next day at eight o'clock and arrived safely after several long hours spent in a horse-drawn coach' At this point in the letter, at the foot of the third page, Toulouse-Lautrec has added an attractive, finely penned ink sketch of their carriage and horses, with gently rolling hills in the background, before further writing of their arrival in Bareges, 'We are eating at the hotel. I have already taken a bath…..' and in a postscript makes several comments including sending thanks for a pie which he found excellent. A wonderful and extremely rare early letter by the fourteen year old Toulouse-Lautrec in which he not only wittily recounts a pilgrimage to Lourdes in the company of his parents but also displays an early talent for draughtsmanship with his illustration. Some tears to the folds, all of which have been professionally repaired and do not affect the text or signature, about VG As truly delightful as Toulouse-Lautrec's youthful illustrated letter is, in retrospect it also has a tragic side. At the age of thirteen Toulouse-Lautrec had fractured the right femur in his leg and at fourteen, just a few days after writing the present letter, he fractured his left femur in a second accident. Neither of the breaks healed properly and the result was his legs ceased to grow, thereby developing an adult-sized torso whilst retaining child-sized legs. Unable to participate in many activities enjoyed by his male peers, Toulouse-Lautrec immersed himself in art.