Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was convinced that cookery is an art... as he adored good food he invented recipes with as much zest and unerring technique as he would put in decorating a menu card or painting a picture... he imagined a dish as an artistic creation, like writing a poem or dancing a ballet.... (from the Introduction)

{HISTORY}

There is something lovely about a cookbook published between the best of friends. They are intimate, gracious and so thoroughly versed in the romance of recipes that they become more than food served on plate. They come to represent enchanted relationships, magical dinner parties, and memorable mealtimes - the result of divine times of culinary bliss enjoyed for a lengthy, familiar amount of time. 

Such is the case with this book, The Art of Cuisine by best friends Henri de Tulouse-Lautrec and Maurice Joyant. If you are an art aficionado, you'll know Henri's art nouveau paintings. Maurice might be a little bit more obscure, but we have him to thank for hearalding Henri's talent.  As his ever-present friend from early childhood days, Maurice was Henri's emotional support sysytem, his promoter, and most importantly his lifelong dining companion through casual every day dinners, big parties, and all the occasional dishes in between. 

Not unlike Claude Monet, everyone knows Henri for his talent at the easel but not everyone knows of his talent in the kitchen. A man who loved to cook just as much as he loved to paint, this cookbook is packed full of recipes that Henri made for visiting guests complete with handpainted menus that would always accompany each of his soirees.

All the menus and the recipes shared in this book are the exact ones that Henri made. However, below each recipe are slight, very helpful specifications that would change Henri's "hearty pinch of salt" to a more accurate 1 tablespoon of salt, so that home cooks could know precisely the correct amounts of ingredients in order to recreate the very same foods that Henri adored. 

Mixed in with all the dishes are drawings of Henri's that bring light and life to the page. He loved women and they do make up a fair amount of the drawings featured here, from legs and bosoms to bottoms and profile portraits, but in addition there are plenty of sketches of animals and men, of sailboats and swans, of rural country scenes, and crowded city bars. It's as colorful and energetic as a cookbook can get.

Interesting recipes include Wild Duck with Carrots and Olives, Sausages with Apples, Chickpeas with Spinach, Dandelion Salad, Galiche from Champagne, Cheese Bread to Give You a Thirst, Nuns' Fitters, Chocolate Mayonnaise, Indian Rice, Leeks in Red Wine, Artichokes with Oil and Garlic, and Sole with Tarragon and White Wine. 

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• First edition published in 1966
• Includes original dust jacket
• Illustrated throughout with paintings, drawings nad sketches by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

{CONDITION}

In lovely vintage condition, this book contains some light tanning on the checkered coverboards but the interior is clean and bright throughout with no spots, stains or notations. The original dustjacket contained some chippy areas which have been repaired with acid-free archival paper to prevent further disintegration. The spine is tight and all pages are intact.

{SIZE}

Measures 9.75" inches (length) x 7.5" inches (width) x 1.25" inches (thickness) and weighs 2.2 lbs

{A FAMILY OF CREATIVE COOKS}

Henri wasn't the only creative cook in his family. Mapie, the wife of Henri's nephew was also an incredible gourmand as well. She wrote a giant cookbook filled with traditional French recipes meant specifically for American households.  Read more about it here.