Paris Artist's Ball circa 1913 ~ 1932

Le Bal des 4Z'Arts, the Four Arts Ball, began in Montmartre in 1892. It was a carnival-like celebration organized by the graduates from the four different creative disciplines of the l'Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts: architecture, painting, sculpture and printing. The bal immediately took on bacchanalian, orgiastic aspects and is credited with the invention of the strip-tease, documented as taking place in front of the Moulin Rouge in 1893. 

Bal participants were obliged to arrived in costume, however after hours of informal parading through the streets of Paris, much of what was worn was removed, resulting in ad-hoc displays of public nudity. Many Parisians and public officials objected to the lack of proper attire of the bal participants as well as the noisy parading through the streets. Nonetheless, the bal endured until 1966 and was in it's golden age from 1915 through the 1930s.

Above is the cover of a special issue of EROS magazine devoted to the Bal des 4'Zarts, published in Paris, circa 1922 with text by Parisian artist and writer Andre Warnod. It includes full-page facsimiles of the original, small format posters created by beaux-arts students + photographs of the participants as well as a basic history by Warnod. The following five illustration are from this special issue.

 Poster for the 1920 Bal by P.Labbe

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 Poster for the 1914 Bal by Georges Barbier

 Costumed participants photographed during the parade

 Poster for 1921 by P.Labbe

 Costumed participants (togas were popular for many years) photographed 

during the parade

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 Original photograph 4.5" x 6.25" circa 1923 showing a

large group of participants\

The next eight illustrations are scans of the original posters from a collection assembled approx. 30 years ago. They measure from 5" x 7" to 6.5" x 12". The posters were beautifully printed, most often by letterpress on quality art-paper. In most instances the posters served a dual purpose: to promote the bal and also to provide a ticket for each one of the participants for entry to the after parade party. After paying for the ticket it was rubber-stamped and signed by members of the committee.

Poster with ticket attached, 1932

Poster with ticket removed, 1913

Poster with ticket attached, 1924

Poster with ticket attached + signatures and rubber stamp, 1925

Poster will ticket attached, 1923

Poster with ticket attached, 1925

Small format announcement, 1920

Poster with ticket attached + signatures and rubber stamp. Note signature 

of Leo Fontan artist, illustrator and editor 
of La Vie Parisienne

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eBay store link at top of the page

vasta@earthlink.net

@vasta_archives

Paris Artist's Ball circa 1913 ~ 1932

Paris Artist's Ball circa 1913 ~ 1932

Le Bal des 4Z'Arts, the Four Arts Ball, began in Montmartre in 1892. It was a carnival-like celebration organized by the graduates from the four different creative disciplines of the l'Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts: architecture, painting, sculpture and printing. The bal immediately took on bacchanalian, orgiastic aspects and is credited with the invention of the strip-tease, documented as taking place in front of the Moulin Rouge in 1893. 

Bal participants were obliged to arrived in costume, however after hours of informal parading through the streets of Paris, much of what was worn was removed, resulting in ad-hoc displays of public nudity. Many Parisians and public officials objected to the lack of proper attire of the bal participants as well as the noisy parading through the streets. Nonetheless, the bal endured until 1966 and was in it's golden age from 1915 through the 1930s.

Above is the cover of a special issue of EROS magazine devoted to the Bal des 4'Zarts, published in Paris, circa 1922 with text by Parisian artist and writer Andre Warnod. It includes full-page facsimiles of the original, small format posters created by beaux-arts students + photographs of the participants as well as a basic history by Warnod. The following five illustration are from this special issue.

eBay store

 Poster for the 1920 Bal by P.Labbe

 Poster for the 1914 Bal by Georges Barbier

 Costumed participants photographed during the parade

 Poster for 1921 by P.Labbe

 Costumed participants (togas were popular for many years) photographed 

during the parade

 Original photograph 4.5" x 6.25" circa 1923 showing a  

large group of participants

The next eight illustrations are scans of the original posters from a collection assembled approx. 10 years ago. They measure from 5" x 7" to 6.5" x 12". The posters were beautifully printed, most often by letterpress on quality art-paper. In most instances the posters served a dual purpose: to promote the bal and also to provide a ticket for each one of the participants for entry to the after parade party. After paying for the ticket it was rubber-stamped and signed by members of the committee.

Poster with ticket attached, 1932

Poster with ticket removed, 1913

Poster with ticket attached, 1924

Poster with ticket attached + signatures and rubber stamp, 1925

Poster will ticket attached, 1923

Poster with ticket attached, 1925

Small format announcement, 1920

Poster with ticket attached + signatures and rubber stamp. Note signature 

of Leo Fontan artist, illustrator and editor of La Vie Parisienne

vasta@earthlink.net

Paris Paper Show March 2013

Back in Paris for the winter installation of the Salon du Livre Ancien et Papiers Anciens (aka the Old Paper Show or Le Vieux Pap) which after a few turns at the Halle Freyssinet has (unfortunately) reverted to the Espace Champerret. The show continues to compress from previous years, while at the same time, for this winter installation, was back in the "old space" used for many years. To the regulars that means bad lighting, no air, low ceilings and not enough food and drink. All things considered it was great for browsing and visiting dealers, friends and acquaintances while continuing to be a struggle (like ever other collectibles, antiques show) to find top material. 

I have posted a few times with numerous photos from previous shows, so this time I will concentrate on noteworthy exhibitions in Paris. First a very well curated exhibition at the Halle St.Pierre titled HEY! Modern Art & Pop Culture Part II. Go here for info. Includes artist from around the world focusing on the strange, the bizarre and the surreal with contributions by H.R.Geiger, Kate Clark (her instantly iconic poster image of animal heads), Joe Coleman, Mati Klarwein, Louis Pons, Serajat, Beb-deum and many others. 

Of special note are the contributions to the exhibition by Mirka Lugosi a truly gifted artist and dear friend. Presently Mirka is focused on very detailed, erotic and surreal pencil drawings, however she occasionally creates three dimensional objects like the one below included in HEY! You can find out more about her amazing work and career here.

Mirka is the muse, collaborator and wife of photographer Gilles Berquet whose photographs delve into the worlds of erotic beauty, domination and the interaction between artist and model using the naked and exposed female body as his inspiration. He is an exceptional creative force, making photographs and publishing his work since the mid-1980s. 

Below is a snapshot of a few of the latest photographs created by Gilles, some of which I will have for sale at the upcoming New York City Photo Fair in April. Look for my post about the fair next week, with photographs I will exhibit for sale at the fair, including a very nice group of images by Gilles. Show info here. Link to Gilles' website is here.

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The other show, actually two show, I visited were at the Musee Branly, the exceptional museum on the banks of the Seine devoted to the art and culture of indigenous peoples from around the world. Hair is quite ambitious embracing sculpture, artworks and photographs as well as material from the collections: shrunken heads, hair pieces, fetish objects  and much more. 

From one extreme to the other...

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Ghana Film Posters is small and worth a visit. The posters are painted on canvass by local artists to promote the sale of African films at local video shops. Crazy wonderful, exploitation style graphics and artwork. A new book (volume two) about the Ghana posters has just been published by Le Dernier Cri in Marseille; find it here on their flicker page and then go to their website to order. 

Click here for the Vasta Images/Books eBay store

vasta@earthlink.net