LA BELLE EPOQUE

TOUGHTLESSSNESS, LIGHTNESS AND JOIE DE VIVRE... DAYS OF GRACE IN BETWEEN TWO WARS, A PERIOD OF TRANSITION BETWEEN TWO CENTURIES, WHERE SOCIAL BOUNDARIES TENDED TO FADE OUT. INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS GAVE ALL HOPE FOR BETTER LIVING, WHERE CULTURE WAS SWELLING AND FUN WAS AT THE HONOR. THIS IS WHAT BEST DESCRIBES THIS UNIQUE PERIOD OF FRENCH HISTORY.

BOURGEOISIE GOING TO THE BAD, POPULAR CULTURE IS PUT ON WITH HONORS IN A HAPPY MESS AND VITALITY. IN THIS UNIQUE CONTEXT ARTISTIC CREATION WAS AUSPICIOUS, LITERATURES CERCLES FORMED AND BROKE OFF WHEREAS PAINTERS AND ILLUSTRATORS WHERE PARTICULARLY INSPIRED BY THIS CHEERFUL AMBIANCE, AT TIMES AT THE UTMOST BUT REMAINING FULL OF FANTASY...

THIS TIME PERIOD WAS A CLEAR RUPTURE WITH THE RIGID CLASSICISM PUT IN PLACE.

ALL THESE FACTORS LEAD TO THE BIRTH OF ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS CABARET: LE MOULIN ROUGE. THIS FAMOUS CABARET OPENED IN 1889.

EXTRAVAGANZA AT LE MOULIN ROUGE

EXTRAVANGANZA AT LE MOULIN ROUGE

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JAPONISM INFLUENCE WAS AT ITS APOGEE, A NEW ARTITIC MOUVEMENT WHICH DIRECTLY INFLUENCED FRENCH ART... JAPONISM WAS PRESENTED AT THE EXPOSITION UNIVERSELLE OF PARIS IN 1867.

HENRI DE TOULOUSE LAUTREC IS ONE OF THE BEST EXAMPLE WITH HIS FAMOUS PRINTS, A BRILLIANT ONE.

Examples of japonism which influenced French art

PAINTINGS OF THE MUSE OF LE MOULIN ROUGE: JANE AVRIL
JANE AVRIL BY HENRI DE TOULOUSE LAUTREC MONFA

To advertise the extravaganza of Le Moulin Rouge, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec painted her portrait on a poster that elevated her stature in the entertainment world even further. The popularity of the Cancan became such that Jane Avril travelled with a dance troupe to perform in London.

In 1895, the owners of the Moulin Rouge replaced Louise Weber, the most famous dancer in Paris, known by her stage name as "La Goulue". Graceful, soft-spoken, and melancholic, Jane Avril gave a dance presentation that was the opposite of La Goulue. Jane Avril became one of the most recognizable names of the Parisian nightlife.

Jane Avril

Jane Avril and Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, or the encounter of two loners.
Henri de Toulouse Lautrec was fascinated by this personnage.

Jane Avril was born Jeanne Beaudon in 1868 in Belleville, she in died in 1943 in Paris, she was one of the famous dancer of Moulin Rouge, she was nicknamed "Jane la Folle" or "La Mélinite". She is buried in the Père Lachaise cemetary (Paris)

Her youth

Jane Avril birth in Belleville 1868. Her mother a courtesan and her father a noble italian, Marquis Luigi Fontana who abandonned her. Mistreated by an alchoolic mother she was placed early in an institution. It is accepted that these mistreatments were reponsible for her nervous disorders, she was admitted at the Hôpital de la Salpêtrirère (France) for hysteria and epilesy disorders. Under the supervision of Doctor Jean Martin Charcot she was released from asylum and found a new passion for danse.

Jane Avril brought at the beginning of the 20th century, le french cancan in numerous european capitals: Paris ,London to Madrid.

Intelligent and sensitive, Jave Avril went along intellectuals and artistic circles.

Henri de Toulouse Lautrec put a tribute to her unique artistical sens by drawing the first edition of L'estampe Originale. L'Estampe Originale being a newspaper for artists.

Among the contributors were Pierre Bonnard, Émile Bernard, Henri Rivière, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jules Chéret, Camille Pissarro, Paul Sérusier, Joseph Pennell, and many others.

L'Estampe Originale, Avril Jane on First page, First Edition

Avril Jane died in 1943 in Paris, her tomb is visible at the Père Lachaise cemetary, Paris (France)

Jane's Avril grave in Père Lachaise

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Even if this blog as the name of Toulouse Lautrec, the oil paintings below are not authenticated.

These two paintings were bought from a Parisian Antiques shop.

The paintings are oils on wood dating of late 1800's early 1900's

Unfortunately not authenticated. They are not from a descriptive catalogue.

These two oils paintings are looking for an expert !