Durfort, France Part Quatre Albi and the Toulouse Lautrec Museum

August 05, 2019

Durfort, France Part Quatre Albi and the Toulouse Lautrec Museum

A visit to Albi and another day of adventure! Our two cars were separated on the way there (each of our GPS systems had their own alternative plans.) Upon arriving in the city, we noticed that traffic was increasing and suddenly there were a LOT of soldiers complete with weapons in large swarms everywhere. What was going on?!

OY VEY! Turns out the prime minister was in town!

We tried asking for directions from the soldiers but they didn't want to help. It took some time, patience, lots of driving around and a couple of back and forth phone calls before we finally figured out an alternative route to the Toulouse Lautrec museum! So much for getting to the museum before it closed for lunch.

We made the best of it. We parked and sat in the car eating our bagged lunches and waited for the museum to re-open at 2 p.m.

The outside architecture of the Cathedral was incredible.

Upon arrival, we split into small groups and decided to meet back by the front desk within 90 minutes. It wasn't enough time for some and too much for others.

I really enjoyed seeing the wide scope of his work collected in one space. The museum really packed his work in but spread it out so that you could take it in and appreciate it in bite size pieces.

I found much of his work to be extremely contemporary in terms of palette and technique. I can see his inspiration coming through to many of the modern artists whose work I enjoy today.

The horses took my breath away! I've never seen horses painted like Henri could paint them. I'm still thinking about the work I saw that day.

Walking up.

Looking down.

Lettering inspiration. Look at the dots.

We joked that this was John Goodman.

Suzanne Valadon, not only a model for many of the Impressionists, but also, an extremely talented artist whose work you should explore.

Another favorite... The lighting was dark in the museum and the glass didn't lend itself well to photography. I wish that my photos were better and I apologize for it. I took photos mostly to capture the work that really resonated with me and that I want to study more closely.