La Belle Époque, the “Beautiful Era” was a prosperous, modern, tantalizing period of French history. It was a period marked by technological, scientific, industrial advancement, as well as influential progression in the arts. During the Belle Époque, a new, vivacious world was brought to life…a world full of immensely cultural, golden glory. Joy and creativity were given the opportunity to thrive in a colorful, artistic atmosphere. Modern acts and thoughts were given the opportunity to dance and flirt among the throngs of entertainment. There was noise and there was laughter. There was optimism and there was brilliancy. There was art and there was dance. There was burlesque and there were courtesans.

There was Toulouse-Lautrec, there was the Moulin Rouge, and there was the wild, fearless can-can dancer, La Goulue.

As mentioned in my post, Seductive Courtesans and a Can-Can Dance!, the Moulin Rouge was a dance hall, brothel, and theater full of pleasurable extravagancy. It was a place where people of all different backgrounds came together to experience the revolutions of society. The morals and boundaries of everyday society were blatantly ignored, as an undeniable elasticity ruled the dance floor. At the Moulin Rouge, youthful dancers moved across the floor with an aura of seduction and inspiration. These dancers came to life among the can-can rhythms and revealing high-kicks. They came to life in the rapidly transformative atmosphere. And one of these dancers was the famous, shameless “Queen of Montmartre,” La Goulue.

Louise Weber, La Goulue was one of the most celebrated dancers at the Moulin Rouge. She had an outrageous spirit that was daring and outspoken. She had a personality that was captivating in its promiscuous charm. She had a strong passion for dance. Starting at a young age, Weber worked in a laundry with her mother, cleaning the garments of those more fortunate. However, Weber did not allow her laundress occupation stop her from dancing and fantasizing a life for herself in the dance halls of no rules, of transforming roles in society. Behind her mother’s back, Weber borrowed the garments left at the laundry by customers and went at night to the world where she truly belonged, the world of movement and dance. Dancing on tables in small clubs around Paris, flipping off mens hats with her toes, charming audiences with her fearless power and stance, lifting her skirts to reveal a heart embroidered on her underwear, gaining the attractions of the painter Auguste Renoir, and downing the contents of nearby customers drinks, Louise Weber became “the Glutton,” La Goulue.

When the Moulin Rouge first opened, La Goulue was there with her dance partner Jacques Renaudin, otherwise known as the very flexible “Valentin le Desosse,” ready to shine under the flashy dance floor. Performing the “chahut,” an early form of the can-can, La Goulue became a permanent headliner of the dance hall. She became a seductive sensation, a wild woman of fame. She was the highest paid entertainer of her day, gaining her earnings based on her captivating audaciousness and exciting movement. She was a dancer of much interest, becoming one of the favorites of Toulouse-Lautrec, the artist, who immortalized La Goulue in his many works of her. Toulouse- Lautrec was overcome with the beauty and energy of the bohemian lifestyle of Montmartre. He was enraptured by the thrilling theatrical sights around him, more specifically the provocative moments in the fashionable Moulin Rouge. A regular at the dance hall, Lautrec captured the setting and the dancers in many unique, telling artistic pieces, whether they be prints, paintings, or illustrations. With much talent, he captured the essence of La Goulue, her spontaneity and proudness, her character and her spirit.

Using his style of simplicity, Lautrec depicted La Goulue and her partner on this boldly minimized, colored advertising poster for the Moulin Rouge. With darkened silhouettes surrounding her dancing form, all attention is focused on La Goulue, her star power, and her thrilling allure. And the simple fashions help add to this allure as well. With bright white petticoats lifted vivaciously in the air, with a dazzling poked dotted top and maroon stockings, La Goulue is shown as the woman she always was, a woman who lived freely, without constraint. A woman who danced with a gaiety that was hard to turn away from, who danced a magical dance that was impossible to erase from memory. The fancier apparels around her do not faze her–she still moves without a care in the world. She defiantly appears to all that surround her. Her salacious livelihood and her originality dance with a risqué, revealing quality.

Through the doors of the Moulin Rouge, Toulouse-Lautrec could be spotted capturing fascinating moments of activity…

And La Goulue could be spotted dancing with a wonderful freedom.