The Moulin Rouge immediately evokes the Belle Epoque - a period of French, and quintessentially Parisian history around the turn of the 19th century, a time which pulsated with artistic energy , technological and scientific discoveries, risqué entertainment and boundless optimism; but there a dark side as well.
Cindy Polemis explores the contradictions of the golden era of the Belle Epoque: from the towering height of the Eiffel Tower to the seedy glamour of Montmartre; from the curls and curves of Sarah Bernhardt’s Art Deco costumes to Henri Guimard’s Metro Designs-everything was open to creativity.
This was a time too of artistic experimentation as the gritty realism of after dark culture moved on from Impressionist landscapes. Paris, with its nightclubs, artistic communities and joie de vivre, was the epicentre of the era and a new generation of artists including Toulouse Lautrec, Edgar Degas and Pablo Picasso captured the essence of that time.
The Belle Epoque- a fabrication borne out of nostalgia, as Europeans who were caught between global wars and financial crises looked back to a more positive time. The ‘modern world’ of the golden age may have been celebrated by millions who attended Paris’s international exhibitions but it was also a time marked by social tensions, poverty, anti-Semitism and corruption. Paris, as it emerged into the 20th century, was not just about high kicks and glitz.
