Années folles
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Années folles | |||
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1920–1929 | |||
Location | France | ||
Key events | Rise of café society | ||
Chronology
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The Années folles (French pronunciation: [ane fɔl], "crazy years" in French) was the decade of the 1920s in France. It was coined to describe the social, artistic, and cultural collaborations of the period.[1] The same period is also referred to as the Roaring Twenties or the Jazz Age in the United States. In Germany, it is sometimes referred to as the Golden Twenties because of the economic boom that followed World War I.
Precursors
The
André Gide, who founded the Nouvelle Revue Française literary review in 1908, influenced Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. Tristan Tzara's 1918 Dada manifesto and the resulting Dada movement were very much a product of the interbellum: "Dadaists both embraced and critiqued modernity, imbuing their works with references to the technologies, newspapers, films, and advertisements that increasingly defined contemporary life".[2] All these served as the precursors for the Années folles.
Café society
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Cafés around Paris became places where artists, writers, and others gathered. On the Rive Gauche (left bank) the scene centered around cafés in Montparnasse while on the Rive Droite (right bank), the Montmartre area.
Left bank
The Années folles in
The
The painters of the School of Paris for example included among others Chaïm Soutine, Amedeo Modigliani, and Marc Chagall, who were Lithuanian, Italian, and Russian, respectively. Later the American Henry Miller, like many other foreigners, gravitated to the rue Vavin and Boulevard Raspail. Montparnasse was, he said, "the navel of the world".[4] Gertrude Stein also lived in Montparnasse during this period.
Right bank
Montmartre was a major center of Paris nightlife and had been famous for its cafés and dance halls since the 1890s. Trumpeter Arthur Briggs played at L'Abbaye and transvestites frequented La Petite Chaumière.[5] After World War I, the artists who had inhabited the guinguettes and cabarets of Montmartre invented post-Impressionism during the Belle Époque.
In 1926, the facade of the Folies Bergère building was redone in Art Deco style by the artist Maurice Pico, adding it to the many Parisian theatres of the period in this architectural style.[6]
Art
Surrealism
Surrealism came to the forefront in the 1920s cultural scene, bringing new forms of expression to poetry with authors like André Breton, whose Surrealist Manifesto appeared in 1924, Louis Aragon, Paul Éluard, and Robert Desnos. Émigré artists had created Post-Impressionism, Cubism, and Fauvism in Paris before World War I, and included Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigliani, and Piet Mondrian, along with French artists Pierre Bonnard, Henri Matisse, Jean Metzinger, and Albert Gleizes.
Surrealists also included artists like Max Ernst, Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí, and Francis Picabia, sculptors like Jean Arp, Germaine Richier and even early film-makers, like Luis Buñuel and René Clair.
Avant-garde
Jean Cocteau, while he denied belonging to the surrealists, was unquestionably avant-garde and collaborated with many of its members.
Entertainment
In the 1920s, Parisian nightlife was greatly influenced by American culture. One of its greatest influences was the
In 1926, Baker, an African American expatriate singer, dancer, and entertainer, caused a sensation at the
The scandal which erupted over Baker's dancing gave way to enthusiasm and quickly generated excitement among Parisians for
Of all the fashionable
American influence
American culture of the Roaring Twenties had a substantial influence on France, which imported jazz, the Charleston, and the shimmy, as well as cabaret and nightclub dancing. Interest in American culture increased in the Paris of the 1920s, and shows and stars of Broadway theatre introduced as innovations for the élite and were imitated thereafter.
This was the case for the famous Revue Nègre in 1925 at the
While she appeared at the Folies Bergère, Baker opened her own nightclub, called "Chez Joséphine", in the rue Fontaine.
Dance
Paul Guillaume in 1919 organized a "Negro festival" at the Théatre des Champs-Élysées. Six years later, he also produced the Paris La Revue Nègre. On rue Blomet, the Bal Nègre cabaret attracted both aesthetes and the curious.[citation needed]
Ballets suédois
The 1920s also marked a renewal in ballet. The Ballets Russes were based in Paris during this time. In 1921 the Ballets suédois offered L'Homme et son désir by Paul Claudel, with music by Darius Milhaud. The company then presented Les mariés de la tour Eiffel, written by Jean Cocteau. Alas, it did not meet with public success. In 1923 another ballet was born, La création du monde; Darius Milhaud wrote the music, and Blaise Cendrars the scenario. Fernand Léger designed the costumes and put onto the stage gigantic animals, birds, insects and totemic gods.
The adventure of the Ballets suédois ended in 1924 with a ballet called Relâche written by Erik Satie and sets by Francis Picabia.
Salon gatherings were another important form of entertainment. Princess de Polignac's gatherings continued to be important to avant-garde music. The circles of Madame de Noailles included Proust, Francis Jammes, Colette, Gide, Frédéric Mistral, Robert de Montesquiou, Paul Valéry, Cocteau, Pierre Loti, Paul Hervieu, and Max Jacob.
Music
During this period the music hall permanently replaced the café-chantant. People often went to the Casino de Paris, the Paris concert, the concert Mayol and the theater; spectacles, attractions, and songs occurred at a rapid pace. Artistic productions had a meteoric rise. Some of the best-known examples were American-influenced shows at the Casino de Paris -- Paris qui dance (1919), Cach' ton piano (1920), and Paris qui jazz (1920–21), Mon homme and Dans un fauteuil gave rise to stardom for Maurice Chevalier and Mistinguett. American influences such as musicals underlay the success of the Folies Bergère, the famous "Mad Berge", inaugurated with Les Folies raging in 1922.
A number of classical music composers, such as those of the School of Paris and Les Six, also flourished at this time. "The musical influence of Paris, dominated first by Debussy and then by Stravinsky, seems to have been almost inescapable for composers in the first four decades of the century."[12]
Operetta
Operetta had a turning point on 12 November 1918 with the premiere of Phi-Phi by Henri Christiné and Albert Willemetz. Up to a thousand performances were played in just two years. The popular Dédé was staged in 1921 by Maurice Chevalier.
Operetta attracted talented composers such as Marseille's Vincent Scotto, and also Maurice Yvain (a composer of Mistinguett's signature song Mon Homme), and author Sacha Guitry, who wrote the libretto for L'amour masqué.
In the Olympia at the Bobino, the Théâtre de la Gaîté-Montparnasse showcased Marie Dubas and Georgius, who inaugurated the Singing Theatre by staging popular songs. From 1926, American titles such as No, No, Nanette, Rose-Marie and Show Boat began to be adapted for French viewers.
Sports
Sports spectacles were also popular during the Années folles. Attendance at sporting venues increased significantly in the years following the war and the press gave sporting events an audience and growing popularity. The newspapers played a significant role in promoting sports through dedicated sports pages, giving popularity to the
Film
Silent film, called "cinéma", rose to popularity in the 1920s. Scientists of the time were predicting little future for it.[citation needed] Silent film is considered by some as the carefree innocence of years or 7th Art.[clarification needed] Max Linder, after being discovered by Charles Pathé, became integral in making the film a cultural phenomenon.
European film production almost completely stopped during World War I, as most actors were drafted into the war. The public took refuge in theaters trying to forget the horrors of the front with films such as
Some films showed the influence of surrealism, with director Luis Buñuel collaborating with Salvador Dalí on his first short film, Un Chien Andalou. René Clair's silent films blended comedy and fantasy.
Theatre
In the Paris of the 1920s, the theater was essentially dominated by four directors -- Louis Jouvet, Georges Pitoëff, Charles Dullin and Gaston Baty. They decided in 1927 to join efforts to create the "Cartel of Four." However, they had much less success than Sacha Guitry in Théâtre des Variétés. There are also parts of Alfred Savoir, comedies of Édouard Bourdet and those of Marcel Pagnol that met with some success.
Specifically, the theatrical performance was a great success with audiences and had an undeniable renewal in 1920, first at the stage performance. Around the "Cartel" develops a creative effort to bring in staging the concerns and aspirations of the time. The change is also reflected in the choice of themes and atmosphere that emerges from the works presented. But parallel to this, the educated public is interested elites increasingly to authors and works that combine classical in the form and the opposition reality/dream at the theatrical atmosphere. Also, the theater Jean Cocteau, the first pieces of Jean Giraudoux such as Siegfried in 1928 and the works of Italian Luigi Pirandello are famous examples that were very successful.[clarification needed]
In 1920, post-impressionist painter Nils Dardel and de Maré together created Ballets suédois at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. In the autumn of 1924, Giorgio de Chirico curated the scenography and costumes for Luigi Pirandello's "The Jar".[where?]
The birth of a popular culture
Along with the elite culture that characterized the 1920s, there arose at the same time in Paris, a popular culture. The
In the same period were the beginnings of Maurice Chevalier, the ultimate illustration of good French mood through one of his songs, "Valentine". The lead dancer Mistinguett, nicknamed La Miss, had successful popular tunes such as Always on the grind, I'm fed up.
Fashion and style
The emancipated look
The garçonne (flapper) look in women's fashion emerged in Paris, promoted especially by Coco Chanel. The boyish look was characterized by a loose, streamlined, androgynous silhouette where neither the bust nor the waist are evident, accompanied by a short hairdo. It became the symbol of the emancipated woman: free and autonomous, and expressing a new social freedom for a woman—she goes out on the town, smokes, dances, engages in sports or outdoor activities, drives a car, goes on trips—and, flying in the face of moral conventions of the day, she flaunts an extra-marital liaison, perhaps even her homo- or bisexuality, or cohabits openly with a partner.
Also by Chanel, the celebrated
Economic growth
The Années folles were also a period of strong economic growth. New products and services in booming markets boost the economy: radio, automobile, aviation, oil, electricity. French production of
Radio
End of an era
The
See also
- International Style (architecture)
- Paris between the Wars (1919–1939)
- Weimar culture
- 1920s in jazz
- 1920s in Western fashion
References
- ^ Andrew Lamb (2000). 150 Years of Popular Musical Theatre. Yale University Press, p. 195.
- ^ "World War I and Dada". MoMaLearning. Museum of Modern Art.
- ISBN 978-1-62779-025-3.
- ^ Sue Aron (6 December 2016). "Paris Photographers: Brassaï, The Transylvanian Eye". Bonjour Paris. France Media. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ISBN 2200279361.
- ^ "Paris, the Birthplace of Art Deco". Minor Sights. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^ Emmett Jay Scott (1919). Scott's Official History of the American Negro in the World War. Homewood Press. pp. 308–.
- ISBN 0822331241.
- ISBN 978-0691135809. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ISBN 978-8809781443.
- ^ "Josephine Baker: Image and Icon" (PDF). St. Louis: The Sheldon Art Galleries. p. 3.
- ISBN 0521399424.
- FIDM. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- ^ "The war economy and its consequences (1914–1929)" by Belisaire
- OCLC 779734404.
- ^ Basic "History of twentieth century: 1st and agricultural terminal" by Florence Cattiau Maryse Chabrillat, Annie Constantine, Christian Peltier, Gwen Lepage, in Educagri Press, 2001
- ^ Marseille 2001, p. 438
Further reading
- Berstein, Serge et Milza, Pierre, Histoire de la France au XXe siècle, Brussels, Complexe, 1995, 573 pages
- Berstein, Serge et Milza, Pierre, Histoire de l'Europe contemporaine, Le XXe siècle: de 1919 à nos jours, Paris, Initial, Hatier, repub. 2002, 378 pages
- Marseille, Jacques (2001). 1900-2000, un siècle d'économie. ISBN 2950331068.
- Abbad, Fabrice, La France des années 1920, Paris, Armand Colin, coll. Cursus, 1993, 190 pages
- Becker, Jean-Jacques et Berstein, Serge, Nouvelle Histoire de la France contemporaine: 12.Victoire et frustrations, 1914-1929, Paris, Éditions du Seuil, coll. Points; Histoire, 1990, 455 pages
- Philippe Bernert et Gilbert Guilleminault, Les Princes des années folles, Paris, Plon, 1970
- Deslandres, Yvonne et Müller, Florence, Histoire de la mode au XXe siècle, Paris, Sogomy Éditions d'Art, 1986
- Les Années folles, sous la direction de Gilbert Guilleminault, Paris, Denoël, 1956
- Jacqueline Herald, Fashions of a decade: the 1920s, London, B.T. Betsford Ltd, 1991
- Jean-Jacques Lévêque, Les Années folles. 1918-1939, Paris, ACR, 1992
- Tartakowski, Danielle et Willard, Claude, Des lendemains qui changent ? La France des années folles et du Front populaire, Paris, Messidor, 1986, 270 pages
- Daniel Gallagher, D'Ernest Hemingway à Henry Miller : Mythes et réalités des écrivains américains à Paris (1919 - 1939), L'Harmattan, 2011
- Fabrice Virgili et Danièle Voldman, La Garçonne et l'Assassin. Histoire de Louise et de Paul, déserteur travesti, dans le Paris des années folles, Paris, Payot, 2011 ISBN 9782228906500.
- Paul Dietschy et Patrick Clastres, Sport, société et culture en France du XIXe siècle à nos jours, Paris, Hachette, coll. Carré histoire, 2006, 254 pages
- Loyer, Emmanuelle et Goetschel, Pascale, Histoire culturelle de la France; De la Belle Époque à nos jours, Paris, Armand Colin, coll. Cursus, 2001, 272 pages
- Jean-Paul Bouillon, Journal de l’Art Déco, Genève, Skira, 1988
- Henri Behar et Michel Carassou, Dada. Histoire d’une subversion, Paris, Fayard, 1990
- Marc Dachy, Journal du mouvement Dada 1915-1923, Genève, Skira, 1989
- Matthew Gale, Dada & Surrealism, London, Phaidon Press, 1997
- Michel Collomb, La Littérature Art Déco. Sur le style d’époque, Paris, Méridiens Klincksieck, 1987
- Richard Hadlock, Jazz masters of the twenties, New York, Macmillan, 1965
- Henry Louis Jr. Gates & Karen C.C. Dalton, Josephine Baker et La Revue Nègre. Lithographies du Tumulte Noir par Paul Colin, Paris, 1927, translated by Delphine Nègre, Paris, Éditions de La Martinière, 1998
- Desanti, Dominique, La Femme au temps des années folles, Paris, Stock-Laurence Pernoud, 1984, 373 pages
- Christine Bard, Les Garçonnes. Modes et fantasmes des Années folles, Paris, Flammarion, 1998
- Planche, Jean-Luc, Moulin Rouge !, Paris, Albin Michel, 2009, 192 pages
- Planiol, Françoise, La Coupole : 60 ans de Montparnasse, Paris, Denöel, 1986, 232 pages
- Delporte, Christian, Mollier, Jean-Yves et Sirinelli, Jean-François, Dictionnaire d'histoire culturelle de la France contemporaine, Paris, PUF, Quadrige Dicos Poche collection, 2010, 960 pages