Two prints from Les Franciscaines collection exhibited in Flers
Two prints from the album "White Bottoms" have just been loaned to the Musée du Château de Flers for its exhibition "Entrez dans la danse!" (May 19 - November 25, 2018).
The album, which is kept by the Musée des Franciscaines, was made in 1927 by SEM (Georges Goursat by his real name, 1863-1934), a caricaturist of the Belle Epoque. It is composed of 34 plates (the complete copy has 40) and was purchased by the City of Deauville at an auction in 2013.
SEM tries to represent the society of the Belle Epoque, then in full mutation at the beginning of the century. He captures it in all the places that have become fashionable and where the greatest meet: in casinos, theaters, cafés and racetracks...
The Normandy seaside resort quickly became an inexhaustible source of inspiration for him. On the beach, at the casino and especially at the racetrack during major horse events, he caricatured personalities from all over the world on vacation.
The stencil technique he uses for the realization of his prints reveals the talents of the draftsman.
MISTINGUETT CREATED THE BUZZ IN 1913
As in the numerous prints by SEM, the two works on loan to the Musée du Château de Flers represent personalities of the Roaring Twenties. Among them are Deauville regulars such as the Prince of Kapurtala, Josephine Baker, famous for having walked the boards of Deauville with her panther Chiquita, as well as Mistinguett, who spent the summer of 1913 in the seaside resort. During this season, the famous singer and showgirl, then in a relationship with the young Maurice Chevalier, was in need of publicity. To get the press to talk about her, she spread the rumor that Felix Mayol had proposed marriage to her; the bet was successful, and the entire press only talked about this rumor, which was soon denied. Mistinguett's love life in Deauville was the subject of much ink during the summer of 1913.
SEM is represented, here in blue, in Deauville, in 1913 by another caricaturist, Ion DO, pictured alongside Henri Letellier, a great local personality who became mayor of Deauville between 1925 and 1928. The presence of binoculars indicates that the two men are at the racetrack. SEM is sketching the bettors, the elegant ladies and other personalities who meet his mischievous gaze.
Thanks to the generosity of the donor couple, Louis and Isabel Romanet, the Franciscan Museum also holds the album Sem à la mer dated 1912. In order to enrich the collection, the Musée des Franciscaines de Deauville has acquired other works and albums by SEM, including White Bottoms, and keeps a total of sixty plates.
Practice
Exhibition Enter the dance !
Flers Castle
Saturday, May 19 > Sunday, November 25, 2018
Discover the links between visual artists and dance.
The works of the artist Paul-Edouard Crebassa (1864-1912) of the museum of Flers are the pretext for all the extravagances: tutus, costumes, videos, photographs will illustrate the subject.
The exhibition also presents works from other French museums, private collections and contemporary creations.
Three contemporary artists illustrate their vision of dance: Sylvie Skinazi and her Cabaret imaginaire, Ludovic Florent and the poetry of dance in his photographs, Pauline Ohrel, photographer and sculptor.
More info on the exhibition : click here
