The Englishman at the Moulin Rouge, 1892 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Prostitutes and performers on the margins of society, who were accustomed to being judged were not worried by him. Despite her fragile and rather ethereal look, on stage she proved to be an acrobatic dancer, full of energy and grace. One of the first was made to promote Avril’s appearance at the Jardin de Paris, to which a special bus ran every night after the Moulin Rouge closed at eleven. < Jane Avril at the Moulin Rouge, 1892. At the Moulin Rouge, La Goulue and her Sister, Lithograph. Her remarkable performances captured the imagination of her audience and she became the favourite in artistic, intellectual and fashionable circles. At night she pursued her dream of a career in dance by performing at local dance halls and Café-chantant (café-concerts.). Montmartre would never be the same again though his legacy can still be seen on the Montmartre streets to this day. ( Log Out /  Detail of Jane Avril Dancing, Toulouse-Lautrec, 1892. San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego. Cheval attaché, an early work by Toulouse-Lautrec, 1881. After the death of his brother, Toulouse-Lautrec’s parents separated and a nanny took care of him. Jane was exceptionally thin, bordering on anorexic, this was noticed by her audience, who referred to her as ‘Fil de Soie’, meaning ‘silk thread’. She became famous through her unusual talent, which was boosted by a series of stunningly inventive graphic posters of her designed by the Montmartre Post Impressionist artist, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. [19], French can-can dancer made famous by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec through his painting, Sources state this was either at the age of 13. With her soulful expression she blends in perfectly into the paintings of Henri Lautrec. On discovering her creative spirit Jeanne recreated herself and bravely entered into a new life as a talented and successful dancer of the Paris theatre. Woman pulling her stockings, pastel and paint on board, by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1894. Jane Avril is a name that a good number of people may have heard of. She met Robert Sherard, a friend and first biographer of Oscar Wilde and fell in love with him. Joseph Oller (1839 - 1922) The founder of the Moulin Rouge. Jane Avril passed away peacefully in her seniors home in January 1943, during the Nazi occupation of Paris, she was seventy-five, . Jane was fifty when the war ended, her husband was wounded and severely ill with lung disease in a military hospital. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. A friend persuaded Jane to to write to Maurice’s sisters requesting financial assistance, they kindly responded and set up a pension for her of 600 francs a month, which would at least keep her comfortable. She knew that there was a risk that her mother would find her, which made it difficult for her to settle. [5], In 1905, she retired from performing altogether and married the French artist, Maurice Biais (1872–1926) in 1911, who adopted her son. 456.1954. They also looked out for him as his Montmartre neighbourhood friends. She discovered that her husband had been stealing her jewels and paintings to fund his new lifestyle and vices. A Seated Dancer With Pink Stockings, 1890, by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Jane Avril by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1899). Jane Beaudon as a young woman, Photographer unknown. [4], Living in poverty and abused by her alcoholic mother, she ran away from home as a teenager,[a] and was eventually admitted to the Salpêtrière Hospital in December 1882,[8] with the movement disorder known as "St Vitus' Dance", with symptoms that included nervous tics, thrashing of limbs, and rhythmic swaying. 1893. She turned up at the hospital pretending to be the distressed parent, but out of sight of the nurses, in the hospital grounds, Élise thumped and screamed at her daughter. ‘Jane Avril leaving the Moulin Rouge’ was created in 1893 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in Post-Impressionism style. Moulin Rouge, La Goulue poster, Toulouse-Lautrec 1891. Jane Avril went on to perform briefly as a singer and an actress, appearing in ‘La Belle de New York’, then later a stage version of Colette’s novel, ‘Claudine a Paris’ put on at the ‘Bouffes Parisiennes’. Could it be Jane Avril in the foreground ? [5][3] She was interred in the Biais family plot in Paris' Père Lachaise Cemetery. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The Kiss, 1892 by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Alongside her evening routines, Jeanne would later work in two very different day jobs; a rider and acrobat at the ‘Hippodrome de l’Alma and a cashier at the Exposition Universelle in 1889. Her mother, Léontine Clarisse Beaudon was a Second Empire courtesan, queen of her profession, who was known as ‘La Belle Élise’. Jane Avril, Poster by Toulouse-Lautrec 1893. The year was 1901 and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was dead (1864-1901). Regardless, Jeanne would incorporate some of these mannerisms into her dance style, whether or not she was cured. (2001). Artist: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec French, 1864-1901. It could have been a wise marketing strategy, as nervous conditions such as hysteria were associated with elegance by writers of the time. Your sketches and paintings are inspiring. She lived for dance and as a result of her regular, individual performances at ‘Le Jardin Bullier’Jeanne became a well known character in the Latin Quarter. Lithograph. Fashionable members of society, who were fascinated by deviation from the norm, disfigurement and disease, were able to observe surgery and take part in fancy dress balls with the patients. Pastel Drawing of Jane Avril, Marina Elphick 2020. At the Cafe La Mie, Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, 1891. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Jeanne muse dancing at The bal des folles de la Mi-Carême at the Salpetrière hospital, represented from life by José Belon, Paris 1890. Her remains were interred in the Biais family vault at Père Lachaise cemetery with her name noted on the tombstone. [14][15] Graceful, soft-spoken, and melancholic, Avril gave a dance presentation that was the opposite of the very boisterous La Goulue. Unable to cope Élise left her child with her elderly parents in Étampes where Jeanne was brought up by her grandparents in the countryside and educated by the nuns at the local convent. Between 1872- 1914, the period known as ‘La Belle Époque’, ( or ‘The Belle Époque’) was a period in French and Belgian history that dated from 1871 and ended when World War 1 began in 1914. In a tangerine-colored dress, Jane Avril performs a high kick, her arms lost among the voluptuous ruffles. Jane muse at Moulin Rouge by Edouard Leon Cortes. He was reunited with his mother in Paris at the age of eight, where he became interested in sketching, making elaborate doodles and caricatures in his school exercise books. Jane visited her son on a regular basis and was bountiful with gifts, watching over him from a distance during his early childhood. Under the supervision of Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot, a pioneer of neurology and the expert on ‘female hysteria’, Jeanne received various kinds of treatment, including hypnosis. Toulouse-Lautrec’s inventive posters established the star status of Jane Avril. Muse of Jane dancing, on painted background by William Tom Warrener (1861 – 1934). Jane Avril and Toulouse-Lautrec had a friendly working relationship, with trust and understanding. It was at this time that Jeanne started to experience uncontrollable muscle spasms, traits of a nervous condition she did not yet know that she had. Jane Avril, Paris. Hi Craig, Available for sale from Galerie d'Orsay, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jane Avril - Jardin De Paris (1898), Original lithograph printed in colors on wove pape… His younger brother was born in 1867, but sadly died the following year. In the early 1930s there was a revival of interest in Jane Avril’s era of the ‘naughty nineties’, and a journalist named Jose Shercliff met up with Jane after having tracked her down. [2], Zsa Zsa Gabor portrayed Avril in the original Moulin Rouge (1952);[17] half a century later, the semi-fictionalized character was reinterpreted by Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge! In the 1860s there were no social services and children were the property of their parents, even if he or she were drunk and psychopathic. 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