Turn-of-the-century Paris was a state of mind as well as an environment for artists and bohemians. As a young man of talent, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec left his wealthy aristocratic home in the south of France and moved to Paris to study painting. He dabbled in paintings in both academic and impressionist styles for a while, but made his true mark in lithographic prints in his particular caricaturist´s style. The subject of his work was nearly always the night-life and various forms of entertainment offered in the Montmartre district, depicting the often sad and sordid lives of dancehall performers and prostitutes in cafés and boudoirs.