Slump
On April 25, at 2 a.m., Paris lost – a little – its splendor. The wings of the Moulin-Rouge, which has lit up Parisian nights for one hundred and thirty-five years, have crashed onto the sidewalk of Pigalle, like common drunks at the end of a night. Apart from the pride of the City of Lights, the accident did not hurt anyone, even at this peak hour in the area. The wings have taken away the M, the O and the U of the facade, temporarily flanked by a ridiculous “red linen” which doesn’t mean anything. The international press was amused, guffawed would be the more accurate word, at this news item. The management very quickly reopened the cabaret, which welcomes six hundred thousand spectators per year. She promised that the mythical place would quickly regain its lost appendages. This will be, basically, just an anecdote, just one more gossip, in a rich history.
Belle Epoque
The cabaret was founded in 1889 by Joseph Oller and Charles Zidler. Its architecture takes up the codes of the mills which dotted the Montmartre hill. The decoration is a mixture of the Japonism then in vogue and eccentricities, like this giant stucco elephant statue which would later disappear. The success is immediate. The place attracts a popular audience like aristo embarked on a tour of the Grand Dukes. People come there to drink, laugh, have fun. Joseph Pujol, known as “le Pétomane”, enchants spectators with his concerts of flatulence. The comic duo Foottit and Chocolat, the latter a black victim of the former, had a triumph there. There is also a form of dance born in England called “French cancan”. The ballet of petticoats and legs in the air, suspenders clearly visible, immediately attracts crowds.
Alluring frills
Among the dancers, Louise Weber earned a nickname at the Moulin-Rouge, “la Goulue”, for her propensity to empty customers’ glasses. She also made it her specialty to knock off men’s top hats with her foot. A cabaret regular, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec paints the dancer in his posters and paintings, at the same time as he immortalizes the atmosphere of the Moulin-Rouge. The dancers “Môme Fromage”, “Gate of Sewer”, “Jane la Folle”, “Nini Patte-en-l’air”, “Rayon d’or” also marked the place. The singer Yvette Guilbert made a name for herself there. The contortionist “Valentin le Désossé” shows off his flexibility. In 1893, a completely naked Cleopatra caused a delicious scandal. The operetta soon reigns supreme, Mistinguett triumphs. In 1915, the cabaret burned down and then rose again from its ashes, enlarged.
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