There are interesting parallels between Andy Warhol and the French fin-de-siecle artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Each was an instantly recognizable figure who moved in a Bohemian crowd, was obsessed with celebrity, and produced print works that embodied the relationship between art and commerce.

This is one of many impressions you might take home from the richly textured exhibition "Toulouse-Lautrec et la vie parisienne" at the Suntory Art Museum till March 9, which pays particular attention to Toulouse-Lautrec's posters of the celebrities of his day.

"This exhibition has some new points of view," says Akira Tomita, general director of the Suntory. "We show his art in its entirety — not only posters, but also his paintings and designs, and documents from the period. In Japan, this is the first time to show all the media of his works in this quantity."

The wealth of Toulouse-Lautrec's own output in oils, gouaches, pastels and lithographs is supplemented by several Japanese ukiyo-e (genre painting) woodblock prints. The presence of these works allows visitors to explore Japanese influences: Toulouse-Lautrec's use of curvilinear silhouettes, his compartmentalization of color and the flattening of space are all giveaways, but more specific resonances are also suggested. The pose and atmosphere of Toshusai Sharaku's print, "Tanimura Torazo in the role of Washizuka Yaheiji" (1794), seems to have been carried over into that of Toulouse-Lautrec's poster of the actor Aristide Bruant, "Eldorado, Aritide Bruant" (1892).

The exhibition also fleshes things out by showing art work by contemporary artists, including caricatures of Toulouse-Lautrec and, best of all, photos and videos of the scenes and personalities of the period. This added documentation gives a sense of the subject matter independent from Toulouse-Lautrec's artworks, which, in turn, helps us to appreciate exactly what it was he brought to the equation.

"We focus on the Montemarte period from the mid 1880s to the late 1990s, because it is essential for his art," Tomita says. "In Montemarte his talent and ability flourished, and he found a subject that he could concentrate on."

By focusing on the essence of Toulouse-Lautrec's later work in this way, the exhibition naturally runs the risk of reinforcing all the usual cliches about an artist who was as iconic in his person as he was in his art. As your eye passes over a backstage johnny complete with top hat, monocle and cane in "Danseuse dans sa loge" (1885), the flouncy-skirted can-can girls of "La Troupe de Mademoiselle Eglantine" (1896), or the the prostitute in all her functional intimacy in "Rousse" (1889), there is a sense of the usual suspects being rounded up yet again. But, at the same time, the strong background work of the exhibition helps bring these characters of the Parisian demimonde back to life.

Most effective in this respect are a number of items connected with three small lithographs of a famous celebrity of the day, "Miss Loie Fuller" (1893), an American dancer who proved to be a Parisian sensation by dancing in voluminous silk garments illuminated with colored lighting. The exhibition includes photos, a statuette and a medallion depicting Fuller, and even a short film, made in 1896 by the Lumiere brothers, that shows her engaged in her famous "Serpentine Dance."' Of all the portrayals of the dancer on show, only Toulouse-Lautrec's humble lithographs, with their expansive curves and color washes, succeed in capturing the essence of what's seen in the movie.

The exhibition brings Yvette Guilbert, another celebrity of the day, to life. A renowned chanteuse from a poor background, Guilbert rose to headline at the Moulin Rouge and was awarded the Legion of Honor later in life. Photos, Toulouse-Lautrec's initial sketches and a fetching statuette by Leonette Cappiello combine to show us different aspects of her puckish charm. This complements a large unfinished poster portrait that Toulouse-Lautrec did of her in charcoal and paint, "Yvette Guilbert, projet d'affiche" (1894).

The repetition of images in this case, with its suggestion of the fascination of celebrity, evokes Warhol's screen prints of Marilyn Monroe — but without the monotony.

"Their similarity is that they were not only observers of popular culture but were also involved in it. They were also involved in the economics of art. Toulouse-Lautrec made books and posters in addition to his paintings. This is very commercialized; it is the same," Tomita says. "But the difference is Warhol was conscious of the relationship and utilized the system of economics, whereas Toulouse-Lautrec was unconscious of it and inside the system."

"Toulouse-Lautrec et la vie parisienne" is at the Suntory Art Museum in Tokyo Midtown till March 9; open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. (Sun. & Mon. closing at 6 p.m.); admission ¥1,300. For more information call (03) 3479-8600 or visit www.suntory.co.jp