Such a “Belle Epoque”
Nonchalance, light-heartedness and ‘joie de vivre’… these are the words that could best sum- up this unique period in the history of France. It was a moment of respite between two wars, a period of transition between two centuries, during which social barriers collapsed and the industrial revolution gave hope of a better life for all, in a rich cultural profusion of fun and frivolity. The middle-class mixed with the riff-raff; popular culture was enhanced by a happy disorder of joy and vitality. In this atmosphere, which favored artistic creativity, literary circles appeared and disappeared according to chance encounters, while painters and illustrators grew increasingly inspired by this joyful, sometimes outrageous but full of fantasy atmosphere that broke with the former rigid classicism of the period.
“Japonism”*, a movement of Far-Eastern inspiration which used Japanese influences in French art, was at its height. Toulouse-Lautrec, with his famous Japanese engravings, was one of its most famous disciples at that time. The atmosphere fitted perfectly the appearance of the first cabarets, such as the Moulin Rouge in 1889.
- Japonisme :
- a term employed by the art critic Phillippe Burty in 1872 to define a new artistic movement inspired by objects and art from Japan, shown for the first time in 1867 at the Universal Exhibition of Paris.
Times of the 7th Art
Concerning architecture, Gustave Eiffel, a real genius with iron, now began his most spectacular project: a 300 meter high tower that could be admired from anywhere in Paris. This was to be the main attraction of the Universal Exhibition of 1889. Another event of major importance during those years was the first cinematographic screening. On the 28th of December 1895, in the Indian lounge of the Grand Café, Boulevard des Capucines, Paris? 23 guests attended an extraordinary show by the Lumière brothers. The photograph that had just been projected onto a small screen had come to life! Coaches, horses and passers-by started to move; a real-life street appeared on the screen. “At this sight, we stood open-mouthed, completely overawed” said the conjurer Georges Mélies, who later became famous by making more than 500 movies filled with fantasy and poetry, such as the remarkable Voyage dans la Lune (Journey to the Moon) in 1902.
At the following exhibition, in 1900, it was Hector Grimard who found fame. In the ever- changing expression of Art Noveau, he gave a new style to the entrances of the Parisian subway, the Metropolitan, never before seen. Blanche station was the first to see the decorative arabesques and leaf-like curves, blending with amazing energy and vivacity.
The Butte Montmartre, bastion of pleasure
In the midst of this effervescence, the Butte Montmarte figures as a symbol. In 1891, the Basilica du Sacré–Coeur was inaugurated with great pomp. It was hoped that, with the basilica on the hill-top, a little prestige would be back to the ill-frequented hill. However, against all expectations, the proximity of the Holy place to the Hell-like slopes only added more character to this mecca of Parisian life. Eccentrics, artists and performers continued going to cabarets, music-halls and cafes in large numbers, joined by the middle- classes, aristocrats and socialites who were becoming increasingly attracted to night-time pleasures. Café-concerts became the true symbol of this social and cultural melting-pot. Workers, artists, middle-classes and aristocrats gathered at the same table in a joyful atmosphere of feast and frivolity.
Here again, painters found their inspiration, among them Toulouse-Lautrec, a regular customer in the area, who came to immortalize the strange, colorful scenes that lie midway between frenetic entertainment and the tragic lives of the lower classes, in famous paintings such as Le Chat Noir and La Goulue.
“Les mêmes coins abritent les mêmes gens. Sous les colonnes rouges, les solives peintes, dans ce décor de palais barbare, roulent les mêmes types, danseurs et danseuses liés ventre à ventre dans la communion du rythme, mecs et graines de mecs, combinards, vendeurs de neige ou de tuyaux, marchands de viande ou de plaisir, artistes, flâneurs, michetons, lames de fond que n’absorbe pas la grande houle humaine des étrangers curieux. A cet élément mâle s’enlace l’élément femelle, putains, demi-filles, bourgeoises, lesbiennes, et brasseuses d’affaires. Tout se mêle, se fond et se confond dans le lent tourbillon qui, de la piste, gagne les pourtours et les promenoirs.”
Henry-Jacques. Moulin Rouge – 1925
The most famous cabaret in the world opens its doors
On the 6th October, at the foot of Butte Montmartre, the atmosphere was pretty festive: a new music-hall was opening in the Jardin de Paris, the Moulin Rouge, and it wasn’t going unnoticed.
The public came in mass to Place Blanche, to discover this extravagant place with its huge dance floor, mirrors everywhere, and galleries that were the last word in elegance, to mix with the riffraff and girls of easy virtue, in a garden decorated with a big elephant with rides on donkeys for the ladies’pleasure. There was such a wild atmosphere that the show was not only on the stage but all around : aristocrats and louts in caps had fun side by side, in an atmosphere of total euphoria.
The masters of the place were Joseph Oller and Charles Zidler. They nicknamed their establishment Le Premier Palais des Femmes (the first Women Palace) and bet on their success, enthusiastically claiming to whoever listened that the Moulin Rouge would become a temple of music and dance. On the very first day, their hopes were fulfilled, the other music-halls just had to learn !!!
“Vingt jambes en l’air. La pesanteur est envoyée par-dessus les moulins. En lames successives, les femmes s’écartèlent sur la piste, offrant leur sexe aux forces obscures de la terre. Quand elles rebondissent, c’est pour retrouver les ailes perdues. Ainsi, disputées entre deux éléments, les danseuses miment la lutte du corps et de l’esprit.” Henri-Jacques. Moulin Rouge – 1925