page_title: Maxime Dethomas
section_title: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
hierarchical_section_title: Maxime Dethomas / Associations / Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
caption_attribution_description: English: Henri Toulouse-Latrec (left) and Maxime Dethomas (centre) with unknown model in Lautrec's studio c. 1890
context_page_description: Maxime-Pierre Jules Dethomas was a French painter, draughtsman, printmaker, illustrator, and was among the best known theater-set and costume designers of his era. As an artist, Dethomas was highly regarded by his contemporaries and exhibited widely, both within France and abroad. He was a regular contributor to the Impressionistes et Symbolistes, and a founding committee member of the Salon d'Automne. In 1912, he was awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur for his contributions to French art.
  During the latter part of his career, he is remembered for his work overseeing set and costume design for the Théâtre des Arts and the Paris Opera. His works appear in many important national collections, including the Musée d'Orsay, the Hermitage Museum and the National Gallery of Art. A large collection of his theatrically related work is held at the Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra National de Paris. Dethomas is also remembered for his close friendship with the artist Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, his brother in-law Ignacio Zuloaga and his association with Les Nabis and other important Post-Impressionist and Symbolist artists and writers.
context_section_description: During 1887 Dethomas began frequenting the library-bookshop of the Revue Indépendante, a favorite haunt of young artists and writers, in which he first befriended Louis Anquetin and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Their friendship blossomed – so much so, that Dethomas would go on to become Toulouse-Lautrec's "favourite companion" and "closest friend".
  Always drawn to physical eccentricity, Toulouse-Lautrec nicknamed the 6'6" Dethomas  'Gros n'abre'  (roughly: Big Tree), for his imposing height and dead-pan face; Thadée Natanson described him as a gentle giant, polished and discreet – "He was so frightened of wearing anything that might draw attention to himself that even the black of his clothes seemed duller than that worn by others." Dethomas' placidity, corpulence and extreme shyness - he always blushed when he had to raise his voice - endeared him to Toulouse-Lautrec. Paul Leclercq claimed that Lautrec was fascinated by Dethomas' "ability to preserve an impassive appearance even in a place of amusement".
  Whilst much has been made of the comical dynamic of their friendship, Tolouse-Lautrec also derived an element of utility from his companion. Calm and seemingly distant, Dethomas generally walked through life a discreet and unassuming character. However, when he accompanied Toulouse-Lautrec, their contrasting heights invariably attracted attention, the bowler hat of the little man barely reaching Maxime's elbow. Yet the jeers stopped at the quiet strength of Gros n'arbre. Contemporaries, like Gustave Coquiot, bear witness to this: "Lautrec loved Maxime Dethomas very much. This tall and strong fellow towered over him. With him, he felt under real protection. When together in the street, Lautrec never heard any ridicule. Dethomas, impassive and cold, always muzzled the crowd." Philippe Berthelot recalled that Toulouse-Lautrec playfully attributed his companion super-human strength and would loudly declare with mock seriousness that Dethomas "could have anyone's hide at his leisure!".
  In the first days of 1891, Dethomas moved to an apartment at 8, Cité Pigalle, Montmartre - selected no-less for its proximity to the workshop of Eugène Carrière, than to that of his friends Toulouse-Lautrec and the photographer Paul Sescau. They lived but streets apart, often visiting the cafes, cabarets, shady bars and brothels of Montmartre, including the Moulin rouge and Le Chat Noir, or extended stays at the notorious closed-houses, the Rue de' Amboise or the Rue Joubert. By 1894, Tolouse-Lautrec and Dethomas were exhibiting together at le Barc de Boutteville.
  On the 16th February, 1895, an infamous soiree was held by the Natansons to celebrate the unveiling of new murals by Vuillard. Chosen from among his friends more for the comedic effect than for his bartending skill, Dethomas assisted Toulouse-Lautrec serving drinks, replete with absurd costumes and flourishes of theatrical drama. Together they served over two thousand cocktails to three hundred guests. The event was long remembered as one of the most debaucherous evenings of the fin-de-siècle. Such escapades played an essential role in the development and themes of both Dethomas' and Toulouse-Lautrec's art.
  Dethomas and Toulouse-Lautrec's adventures together were not limited to the streets of Paris. If Dethomas' close friend Gabrielle Dorziat is to be believed, during the month of October, 1894,  Dethomas and Toulouse-Lautrec travelled to Spain together, stopping at Madrid, Cordoue and Seville. In subsequent years their travels continued, visiting exhibitions, museums and mutual friends or exploring towns such as Granville, Arromanches and Dinard, at which Dethomas had made use of a summerhouse. During the summer of 1895, they journeyed to the coast of Normandy together. From photographs taken by Dethomas at Saint-Malo with the Natansons during one such trip, he later modelled two portraits of Toulouse-Lautrec, both of which are held at the Musée Toulouse-Lautrec.
  From June 20 to July 5, 1897, Dethomas and Toulouse-Lautrec sailed Holland's canals on a barge, visiting Utrecht, the Frans
caption: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (left) and Maxime Dethomas (centre) with unknown model in Lautrec's studio (c.1890)
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