Henri Toulouse-Lautrec was only four feet six inches tall, due to a congenital disorder that stopped his legs growing. Consequently, he immersed himself in a world of painting and drawing. What he lacked in height he would make up for with artistic prowess.

Born in 1864 to an aristocratic family in southern France, he left home at 23 to live in the Montmartre district of Paris. He became a regular visitor to the Moulin Rouge dance hall and discovered drinking, bohemia and sex, once boasting, 'I may only be a small coffee pot, but I have a big spout.' He would stay up all night to drink, talk and work, immortalising the decadent lifestyle of the Moulin Rouge in his posters. He began each day with a shot of rum and would continue to drink steadily. 'I'm not worried about falling down drunk,' he would joke. 'I am already so near the ground, I wouldn't even notice.' After a nervous breakdown caused by too much absinthe, Toulouse-Lautrec contracted syphilis and died at the age of 37.