The Belle poque 1871 1914 What is it

The Belle Époque (1871 -1914)

What is it? It is a historical-cultural-artistic period which goes from the last years of 20° century to the First World War. This «piece of history» brings europe (also USA and Mexico) to a general development of technologies and well-fear contributing to a big change in people’s life style To better understand the «big change» we have mentioned before, we divided the work into 3 POINTS…

1° point (Innovetions/inventions) • First prototype of car by Karl Benz: it was called «Benz Velociped» . His wife Bertha, secretly drove 50 miles with it; thanks to her, Karl Benz’s car became very popular. • Cinema by Lumière brothers: movies are a high-speed images’ succession which creates fluid movements. • Eletrical illumination • Radio by thomas Edison: his invention consists of a system of incandescent metals inside a bulb which create light. by guglielmo Marconi: he tried to send signals by electromagnetic waves. That means he created a wireless system. • Telephone • First Airplane by antonio Meucci: he created a device which consisted in the Voice’s Eletric transfer by Wright brothers: they understood that heavy objects could fly only if they had «wings» , an engine (they built it themselves because it was too expensive ) and a control system. • Vaccine (anti-virus) and antibiotics they overcame diseases improving health-care which meant a better life

Some pictures

2° point (fashion/trends) woman • Hats: with lots of decorations and details • Tailleur: long jacket with tight but puffy sleeves on shoulders • Underneath the jacket, a linen blouse with high neck and lace details • Long, soft and bell-shaped skirt • shoes had laces and were characterised by «Luigi’s hills» (he was the king and he used to wear this type of shoes following the rococo style) • Accessories: gloves (long in the evening and short during the day), sun umbrellas, handbags, fans and walking sticks • Felt hats (during the day) and top hats (in the evening) Suit composed by 3 pieces: • Jackets shorter than those they used to wear before, 3 bottons and handkerchief in a pocket • A classic, white blouse underneath the jacket • Gilet • They wore mostly boots with laces or bottons • Accessories: tie, papillon, walking stick

Some illustrations

Cabarets in Paris during the Belle Époque Le Moulin Rouge Le Chat Noir • It was the best known among them. • It was called like this because it was a real windmill, located in Montmartre (Paris). • One of the most famous performances was the «CAN CAN» . • Le Moulin Rouge became very famous and even today it is possible to go there, see the show and go back to this period • It was a famous entertainment establishment ( as the Moulin Rouge). • It is situated in Montmartre, specifically in the bohemian part • We can consider it the first modern cabaret, what is today called a nightclub • Here people used to drink (alcohol) while watching a large variety of shows. This is the poster which became the symbol of the cabarets’ entertainment created by Alexandre Steinlen

3° point (art) Art nouveau (modern style) Impressionism • This art had the chance to be known thanks to the production and publication of posters • It influenced not only painting but also architecture and design • It took inspiration from nature, characterised by dinamic and wavy lines • One of the most important artists is Gustav Klimt • This movement came from the realism because its main theme was everyday life. • The artists focused just on what people saw in nature and not on its meaning • Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas, Cézanne are some of the most important painters.

The bohémien style • Artists of this period used to live according to a code of noncomformity: overuse of drugs and alcohol but at the same time unconditional passion for art • Renoir, Picasso, Henry de Toulouse-Lautrec are some of the most rapresentative artists the absinthe drinker (Pablo Picasso)