Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, 1714-1785,
a French sculptor who did work for the court of Louis XV, may well have
had few doubts that one day his name would be associated with the most
debauched quarter of Paris. This said the man is responsible for the
famous sculpture of the Virgin Mary that resides today in the
Saint-Sulpice Cathedral. Pigalle is today synonymous with ladies of the
night, cabarets, and the Paris underworld before the war. Not a true
quarter, Pigalle is rather a long boulevard, stretching from
Barbès-Rochechouart until the Place de Clichy, and bordering the
south side of the Butte-Montmartre. At the corner of the Boulevard de
Clichy and la Place Blanche resides Paris’, and arguably the world’s,
most recognised cabaret, the famous Moulin Rouge. Created at the same
time as the Eiffel Tower, in 1889, the Moulin Rouge quickly became the
temple of the French Can-Can, thanks to the famous dancers resident
there including Jane Avril, Lucette Guilbert and la Goulue. Well
recognised souvenirs of that torrid era are the works of the painter
Toulouse-Lautrec, which immortalised some of these women (one such work
is found on this page). Today still, the Moulin Rouge, the
Folies-Bergère and the Lido present their erotic revues,
perhaps more for the tourists than the locals. Stunning women dancing
under lights, barely clad in fantastic costumes, continuing the long
tradition of the French Can-Can.
Moulin
Rouge
: 82
boulevard de Clichy - 75018 Paris
-
M° : Blanche - Phone : +331.53.09.82.82
Lido : 116 bis, avenue
des Champs-Elysées -
75008 Paris - M° : Etoile - Phone : +331.40.76.56.10
Folies-Bergère
:
32, rue Richer - 75009 Paris - M° :
Grands Boulevards - Phone : +331.44.79.98.97
