Sur les pas du Chat Noir: interdisciplinary dialogues and artistic metamorphosis in the Paris of Art Nouveau

Jean-David Caillouet

《創藝學報 JAD》 5期 (2015/12) Pp. 39+41-57

並列摘要

From the moment it opened its doors in 1881, Le Chat Noir cabaret redefined the cultural geography of bohemian Montmartre. Its eclectic clientèle derived more pleasure from the intellectual than physical pleasures of life and their idealism was fueled by the new discoveries of science and new technologies. It is within its walls that the composers Claude Debussy, Érik Satie, the painter Toulouse Lautrec, the poet Paul Verlaine, the painter and shadow play artist Henri Rivière and the cartoonist and animator Émile Cohl among many others shared ideas and imagined possible futures for artistic expression. More than a century later Théophile Steinlein's famous poster for the Chat Noir remains one of the most iconic image to come out of the Paris of La Belle Époque. Its Art Nouveau stylings now stand as a symbol of a transitional epoch which fully embraced all areas of life and artistic expression. An era when many forms of art emphasized musical elements, when musical compositions paid homage to the new aesthetics suggested by painters, architects and designers. Collaborations between writers, composers and choreographers gave birth to pioneering creations. Breaking away from the rigid academic moulds of the 19^(th) century, those pioneers took their inspirations from the natural world and the philosophies and art from the Far East. This paper aims to investigate the connections between artists, musicians and intellectuals in fin de siècle Paris and their contributions to the innovations that paved the way for the radical new directions of twentieth century art.