Aristide Bruant
Encyclopedia
Aristide Bruant was a French
cabaret singer, comedian, and nightclub owner. He is best known as the man in the red scarf and black cape featured on certain famous posters by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
. He has also been credited as the creator of the chanson réaliste
musical genre.
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Born Louis Armand Aristide Bruand in the village of Courtenay, Loiret
in France
, Bruant left his home in 1866 at age fifteen, following his father's death, to find employment. Making his way to the Montmartre
Quarter of Paris
, he hung out in the working-class bistros, where he finally was given an opportunity to show his musical talents. Although bourgeois by birth, he soon adopted the earthy language of his haunts, turning it into songs that told of the struggles of the poor.
Bruant began performing at cafe-concerts and developed a singing and comedy act that led to his being signed to appear at the Le Chat Noir
club. Dressed in a red shirt, black velvet jacket, high boots, and a long red scarf, and using the stage name
Aristide Bruant, he soon became a star of Montmartre, and when Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
began showing up at the cabarets and clubs, Bruant became one of the artist's first friends.
In 1885, Bruant opened his own Montmartre club, a place he called "Le Mirliton". Although he hired other acts, Bruant put on a singing performance of his own. As the master of ceremonies for the various acts, he used the comedy of the insult to poke fun at the club's upper-crust guests who were out "slumming" in Montmartre. His vaudeville
-inspired mix of song, satire and entertainment developed into the musical genre called chanson réaliste (realist song).
Bruant died in Paris and was buried in the cimetière de Subligny, near his birthplace in the département of Loiret. A street in Paris was named in his honor.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
cabaret singer, comedian, and nightclub owner. He is best known as the man in the red scarf and black cape featured on certain famous posters by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa or simply Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, and illustrator, whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of fin de siècle Paris yielded an œuvre of exciting, elegant and provocative images of the modern...
. He has also been credited as the creator of the chanson réaliste
Chanson réaliste
Chanson réaliste, or realist song, refers to a style of music performed in France primarily from the 1880s until the end of World War II...
musical genre.
Biography
Courtenay, Loiret
Courtenay is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.*Région: Centre*Département: Loiret *Arrondissement: Arrondissement of Montargis*Canton: Canton of Courtenay*INSEE code: 45115*Postal code: 45320...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Bruant left his home in 1866 at age fifteen, following his father's death, to find employment. Making his way to the Montmartre
Montmartre
Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...
Quarter of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he hung out in the working-class bistros, where he finally was given an opportunity to show his musical talents. Although bourgeois by birth, he soon adopted the earthy language of his haunts, turning it into songs that told of the struggles of the poor.
Bruant began performing at cafe-concerts and developed a singing and comedy act that led to his being signed to appear at the Le Chat Noir
Le Chat Noir
Le Chat Noir was a 19th-century cabaret, meaning entertainment house, in the bohemian Montmartre district of Paris...
club. Dressed in a red shirt, black velvet jacket, high boots, and a long red scarf, and using the stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Aristide Bruant, he soon became a star of Montmartre, and when Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa or simply Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, and illustrator, whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of fin de siècle Paris yielded an œuvre of exciting, elegant and provocative images of the modern...
began showing up at the cabarets and clubs, Bruant became one of the artist's first friends.
In 1885, Bruant opened his own Montmartre club, a place he called "Le Mirliton". Although he hired other acts, Bruant put on a singing performance of his own. As the master of ceremonies for the various acts, he used the comedy of the insult to poke fun at the club's upper-crust guests who were out "slumming" in Montmartre. His vaudeville
Vaudeville (song)
A vaudeville is a French satirical poem or song born of the 17th and 18th centuries. Its name is lent to the French theatrical entertainment comédie en vaudeville of the 19th and 20th century. From these vaudeville took its name....
-inspired mix of song, satire and entertainment developed into the musical genre called chanson réaliste (realist song).
Bruant died in Paris and was buried in the cimetière de Subligny, near his birthplace in the département of Loiret. A street in Paris was named in his honor.
Songs
Some of Bruant's better known songs include:- Nini Peau d'Chien
- A la Bastille
- A la Villette
- Meunier tu es cocu
- A Batignolles
- Serrez Vos Rangs
- A la Roquette
- La chanson des Michetons
- A Poissy
- A la Place Maubert
- Les petits joyeux
- Belleville-Menilmontant
- La Greviste
- Le Chat NoirLe Chat NoirLe Chat Noir was a 19th-century cabaret, meaning entertainment house, in the bohemian Montmartre district of Paris...
- Les Mômes de la Cloche
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's trademark look as the Fourth DoctorFourth DoctorThe Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
was originally inspired by Lautrec's paintings of Bruant. - On Yakuza 3Yakuza 3Yakuza 3 is a PlayStation 3 video game, originally released in Japan as , the sequel to Yakuza 2 and the fourth installment in the Yakuza series. It is developed by Sega Japan's CS1 Team and published by Sega...
, Tokyo Kamurocho's Bantam Irish pub is decorated with Toulouse Lautrec's paintings of Bruant.