Famous painter who was a midget

What regret to have neither the time nor the eyesight to write some biographies of artists who were stars at the moment when it was more difficult to become a star than it is now. When I think of this vanity in yearning for glory which only lasts for an instant and which resembles fashions which no longer exist. I say to myself that working only for glory and honor is useless! Creating art for your own pleasure, then if you are forgotten by history it's of no importance. At Montmartre, it seems that only Lautrec still exits on the "Butte" hill.

The scene Lautrec stepped into was in the working-class district known as Montmartre, notorious for its thieves and brothels as well as its hangouts for avant-garde artists and literary anarchists. In Lautrec was a year-old student in the atelier of the painter Fernand Cormon. Within a decade he would be famous for his spectacular posters of the Moulin Rouge and other Parisian dance halls. More than a century later, his black-stockinged, high-kicking dancers with their layered petticoats and plumed hats remain among the most popular and striking images of modern art. He was 4 feet 11 inches tall, having been born with a disorder—most likely from family inbreeding— that gave him a normal torso but shortened legs. He quipped that he could get falling-down drunk without harm, being so close to the floor. Witty and gregarious, Lautrec liked to be the center of attention.

The character is portrayed respectively from the front and back at two subequent moments of the action: at the front we see him before the hunt, holding an owl in a snare to be used as a bait to capture a jay that is flying in the air. Two scarce swallowtail butterflies cover his genitals; these were discovered recently, when the painting was last restored. From behind, we see him just about to turn towards the viewer, eager to proudly show off his prey. By painting a canvas from various perspectives Bronzino put his money where his mouth was, proving wrong those who favored sculpture in the belief that it offered more points of view. The portrait is now on display in Apollo Room in the Palatine Gallery.

This shed a new view point on how the 17th century society should view little people. Diego Velazquez, Self portrait Oil on canvas, 45 x 38 cm. Oil on canvas, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid. Previously, it has been known that little people were viewed and used as objects of amusement, often being traded as gifts amongst the royals; having them as part of the courts became a trend, originating with King Philip IV and spreading across Europe soon after.