Baby Kermit as Lautrec paints Baby Piggy as Avril
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) was a French post-Impressionist painter, art nouveau illustrator, and lithographer, and recorded the bohemian lifestyle of Paris at the end of the 19th century.
He was deemed "the soul of Montmartre", the Parisian quarter where he made his home. His paintings portray life at the Moulin Rouge and other Montmartre and Parisian cabaret and theaters, and in the brothels that he frequented. Two of the well-known people he portrayed were singer Yvette Guilbert, and Louise Weber, known as the outrageous La Goulue, a dancer who created the "French Can-Can."
References[]
- In episode 208 of The Muppet Show, the Lautrec Sisters -- a quartet of dancing rats -- audition for a spot on the show by dancing "The Garbage Can-Can".
- Miss Piggy's Art Masterpiece Calendar from 1984 features Miss Piggy and Kermit in a spoof of Toulouse-Lautrec's 1893 portrait of Jane Avril.
- The Muppet Babies episode "The Muppet Museum of Art" features Baby Kermit as Lautrec with Baby Piggy taking on the role of Jane Avril.
- The Avril portrait is spoofed again with Miss Piggy and Animal in the Muppet Art: 1999 Calendar.
- The Sesame Street character Toulouse, an artistic caveman, is named after him.
- An animated Sesame Street segment about the letter D is based on the artist's famous 1895 poster of women in a can-can line. (First: Episode 3499)
Lautrec's original Jane Avril (1893)
Baby Piggy admires the original
Piggy becomes Avril
Sesame Street