For seven years of her life (2012 - 2019), Nina Vogel devoted herself to theoretical and practical research on the life and work of the French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - little giant, marginal aristocrat - whose drawings have immortalized the artists and people of the Belle-Époque in the collective unconscious.

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The contemporary Puppet Theatre, whose roots come from the millennial and universal art of traditional puppetry, seemed to her the ideal art form  to bring the painter to life on stage. Curiously, thanks to this relentless quest, during an Artistic Residence in Santiago de Chile, in 2015, Nina found herself in a studio, surrounded by visual artists, just like him, to make a human-sized puppet of the painter . She had to hone her skills in drawing, sculpting, and painting. Their connection happened through the breathing and her legs, which she lent him so they could experience the world together. When it comes to Toulouse-Lautrec, it naturally ended up leaving the black box of the theater, to meet people in the streets of different cities in Brazil and different countries of the world.

 

The creation unfolded in a triptych: a short form with the puppet and an accordionist; a stroll through the Museum and a theatrical play with female characters from his works.

 

After seven years of countless adventures together, the painter's farewell took place at the top of the Montmartre hill, where Toulouse-Lautrec's bohemian soul has always felt at home.