Moulin Rouge 20152/25/2024  In September 2015 my friend Tom and I visited The Moulin Rouge courtesy of the VIP tickets that Tom (as a surprise) had booked and thus secured for the both of us.
To be fair, It was the only way that he or any one for that matter would have got me to walk through the doors of such a revered place. I, at this point had not wanted to betray my romantic ideal of the 1890s and so had always steadfastly refused to enter the place. Unless Toulouse-Lautrec was at his table sketching or Jane Avril dancing with her usual free spirit...well, I wanted nothing to do with the modern incarnation... thank you very much! I wrote up the whole of that particular trip and my thoughts on The Moulin Rouge visit in my blog entry for September 2015. Feel free to visit and read of my own and Tom's adventure. Anyway, and to the point, as a memory and to commemorate that trip and my first entry into The Moulin Rouge Tom purchased the above painting for me in the Place du Tertre in Montmartre. I still possess the painting and it serves as a wonderful reminder of that trip and my fated entry into The Moulin Rouge. Cheers Tom.
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So, here it is - Jane Avril - The Life of a Moulin Rouge Dancer.
Please do enjoy the film. The following is Marie's own comments and useful Chapter breakdown to her film. Jane Avril – The life of a Moulin Rouge Dancer is an artistic documentary where I tell all the facts I have discovered about French dancer Jane Avril’s life in detail. Starting from her birth in 1868 to her death in 1943. I reference all the historical facts and plausible stories I had found up until 2022. I often present information in front of places linked to the presented period in Jane’s life. The documentary was made while on a residency at Cité Internationale des Arts. It was shot in Paris and in Jouy-en-Josas, France. The documentary is part of the larger body of work about my relationship to French dance performer Jane Avril (1868-1943), who was a model and friend of artist Toulouse-Lautrec. I’ve felt connected to her personality and artistic expression ever since the very first time I saw images and photos of her in 2004. CHAPTER BREAKDOWN
My sources for making Jane Avril – The life of a Moulin Rouge dancer are: population censuses, the archive of Performing Arts – Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the archive of Museé Montmarte, a biography on Jane Avril from 1952, and my translation of Jane Avril’s memoirs from 1933, as well as biographies on Toulouse-Lautrec and the catalogue from the Courtauld Gallery’s exhibition Toulouse-Lautrec and Jane Avril – Beyond The Moulin Rouge. Welcome Back!2/13/2024 It's been a while since I last made any posts on my blog or indeed made updates to this site. That said, we GO AGAIN!
Quite a lot of new information has become available with respect to Jane Avril and over the coming weeks I will be making changes and adding updates to reflect all the new information that has come to light. Quite a lot of the new research has been undertaken by my friend Maria who has made a film about Jane Avril called - Jane Avril - The Life of a Moulin Rouge Dancer which is available on YouTube but I will add the film or failing that the link to ensure you all have the opportunity to watch it. I think you will all appreciate the effort and travel that Maria has put into the making of her film. I know I have. It was a labour of love. It's research that I certainly wasn't able to undertake but what it does do is fill in the gaps and corrects assumptions that most people had. We are now able to use the real names of those involved as Avril's biographer Jose Shercliff used false names to protect those possibly still alive at the time of its release in 1953. So, onwards we go and as ever please feel free to post a comment via the contact page when you visit. Craig One of the many characteristics that drew me to Jane Avril was her ability to deal with the verbal, mental and physical abuses that her mother subjected her to over the many years of her youth.
Despite the on-going abuse Jane never permitted her mother to have the satisfaction of seeing her "break." She was tough, no doubt, and it's fair to say that the abuse left her with physical and mental scars which she carried all her life. According to her biographer - "One physical symptom of her nervous complaint remained, and, indeed, never left her. It was a curious and fascinating twitch of the nostrils that made her wrinkle her fine little nose like a rabbit. If anything it added later to her quaint charm." Jane Avril should serve as an inspiration to those who have walked her path as a victim of abuse in that she refused to play the role of the victim and indeed went on to have a glorious career as a dancer who carried the crown of Queen of the Moulin Rouge and Montmartre for some time. Again, according to her biographer - "Her mother would visit her wrath upon Jane with increasing violence. Beaten, thumped, shaken, whipped with a vicious leather thong until she was all but unconscious, Jane, night after night, went through nightmare scenes of desperate horror. How she preserved her sanity is a miracle, and the self control that kept her from screaming out loud, the pride that made her silent about her sufferings, were amazing qualities for a child of her age." Here Jane Avril recalls in later life her own memories of what she suffered at the hands of her mother. "I was to proud to cry, but anyway, my mother threatened me with such terrible vengeance if ever I breathed a word to anyone, that that alone froze me into silence. Ah, the nights I spent with my body black and blue and aching from her thrashings! But she was clever, as clever as she was evil, for she took care never to mark my face. As the blows rained on me I used to whisper deep down inside myself "Oh, stop...stop...stop..." But no one ever heard my plea." Jane's ordeal didn't end there, Jane's mother sent her out onto the street to earn money in the manner in which her mother was accustomed. Jane who was only 15 years of age refused and when on one occasion she came home empty handed her mother full of rage and fury thrashed Jane to within an inch of her life and, flinging her unconscious and bleeding on to the floor. A few nights after this incident Jane fled from home and never returned. Nor did she ever hear from her mother again. To live through this and achieve all she did makes me admire this lady all the more. Happy Birthday - Jane Avril6/9/2021 A very happy 153rd Birthday to the undisputed Queen of the Moulin Rouge... Jane Avril.
All your admirers are thinking about you today! x Craig A sense of renewal thanks to Marina!2/1/2021 I very nearly decided it was time to leave this website behind me after 11 years but I couldn't quite bring myself to delete it. I honestly thought I had taken all things Jane as far as I could and said all the things that had to be said.
So, what then changed my mind? Well, I came across an excellent page called, 'Marina's Muses' and I was moved to see that Marina had created a most wonderful tribute to Jane and it made me fall in love with her all over again. I have just re-read the excellent but somewhat romanticised biography, Jane Avril of the Moulin Rouge by Jose Shercliff and following on from that I decided that rather than delete this website I would instead update and refresh it. This website still serves as a useful reference guide to those who are new to Jane or for those who are undertaking projects that are closely connected with Jane. Such a resource should not be lost and I thank all those of you who have contacted me over the years telling me how much you enjoyed the content and how useful it has been. The link to, 'Marina's Muses' is https://marinamade.me/2020/07/28/jane-avril-toulouse-lautrec/ Enjoy - Here's to another decade! Craig It's easy to admire Jane Avril who was born today 152 years ago in 1868. After all, she was the celebrity of her day. (when fame actually meant something) The undisputed Queen of Montmartre and the Moulin Rouge who had a sense for style and had the artistic masters of her time paying court to her.
But, these are just the obvious reasons. In her youth Jane (then Jeanne) suffered from serious domestic abuse at the hands of her cruel and evil mother who beat her often within an inch of her life. To overcome this and to go on to become THE shining light in Paris in the 1890s is all the more reason to celebrate her life. "I was too proud to cry, but anyway, my mother threatened me with such terrible vengeance if I ever breathed a word to anyone, that that alone froze me into silence. Ah, the nights I spent with my body black and blue and aching from her beatings! But she was clever, as clever as she was evil, for she took care never to mark my face. As the blows rained on me I used to whisper deep down inside myself "oh, stop...stop...stop" But no one ever heard my plea." A quite remarkable woman! 77 Years1/31/2020 On this day 77 years ago in 1943 the great Jane Avril passed away on a cold night in Paris.
"I was loved and in return I love, I loathe the material side of existence. I wanted life to be all love, all happiness." I hope she is dancing still. . Merry Christmas12/19/2019 May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Welcome back to the "Roaring 20s!" The Happy Prince11/19/2018 I am not aware of any films about Oscar’s life that focuses solely on his post prison exploits under the assumed name of Sebastian Melmoth. The recent release of Rupert Everett’s film about the final years of Oscar Wilde was uncomfortable viewing. That said, I think it’s important to focus on the damage not only to his reputation, his health but also on his wife Constance (Played by Emily Watson), his children and friends. Yes, many friends deserted him, (“my friends will call me Oscar; my enemies will call me Wilde “ Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders – Gyles Brandreth 2008) only the ever faithful Robbie Ross (Edwin Thomas), Reggie Turner (Colin Firth) and a few others stood by him after his release. His wife Constance set boundaries with respect to finance and his children were denied the presence of a father who loved them dearly. He was a broken man susceptible to illness that in the end destroyed him. He survived by acts of kindness, generosity and allowances and he was never again welcomed into London society and the clubs that once adored and welcomed him. He spent his remaining years in exile in France and Italy.
I will only mention Lord Alfred Douglas (Colin Morgan) once and that is only to say that his portrayal in the film continues the theme of a spoilt, conceited and selfish individual following on from where the Stephen Fry film of 1997 left off with Jude Law playing Oscar’s “Bosie”. The passing of time and the change in social culture has once more elevated Oscar Wilde to his rightful place and I have no doubt he would have been a celebrated television personality with his own talk show and touring around the country with his award winning one man show had he been around today. That said, I’d like to think he would turn his back on the television medium and focus more on further plays, novels and short stories. Oh, to think of the work he could have produced! Yes, he was ahead of his time but he paid a high price for his “sins” which would be considered mere tittle tattle by modern standards. Bringing The Happy Prince to the big screen was a labour of love for Everett who not only starred as the great man but also directed and produced the movie – no mean feat! This is a fine and welcome addition to the Wilde biopics that have hit the silver screen throughout the last 60 years. Oscar Wilde died in Paris in 1900 and is buried at Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Paris. 
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