Due to the success of the exhibition, Caumont will close exceptionally at 7 p.m. on Saturdays 7, 14 and 21 March.
Conference
Toulouse-Lautrec and the magic of the circus
Saturday, September 26, 2026Conference presented par Laurent Genest
The circus enjoyed great success in Europe in the 19th century. In Paris, the most famous establishments were the Cirque Fernando (later Medrano), the Cirque d'Hiver, and the Cirque d'Eté. Several of Toulouse-Lautrec's contemporaries were great circus enthusiasts, such as Degas, Renoir, and Seurat. For Toulouse-Lautrec, the circus was not only the subject of one of his masterpieces, the album entitled Le Cirque, but also the key to his release from the private clinic where his parents had him committed in 1899, following violent episodes linked to his alcoholism and unrestrained lifestyle. In order to leave the hospital, he had to prove that he was still capable of painting and drawing...
Introduction of the speaker
Laurent Genest
National Lecturer. After studying art history and archaeology at the École du Louvre and the University of Paris I – Sorbonne, where he also lectured for several years, Laurent Genest has continued his research on our contemporary relationship with works of art in general, and with reproductions of artworks in particular. He was one of the founding members, at the University of the Sorbonne, of the Critical Observatory of Digital Resources in Art History and Archaeology, now hosted on the CNRS website (https://observatoire-critique.hypotheses.org/). He regularly organizes cultural trips in France and abroad. He is a member of ICOM (the International Council of Museums) and has published several contributions on the topic of the virtual museum in specialized journals.