There' an exhibition that opened about two weeks ago and seemed promising based on the add I saw. You know I can't let these occasions slip out of my hands, but with life being busy and a couple of health issues, I could only visit today. No worries as it was not too late.
This was a combined exhibition, featuring the work of two artists and the title of the exhibition was not Moulin Rouge :) The reason for this title is, because Erzsébet Kulcsár, one of the exhibiting artists had a series with this theme. A wonderful one, you'll see.
I hope there's no need to explain what Moulin Rouge is, but to be in the safe side, for those readers from outside Europe, here it is.
Moulin Rouge ("Red Mill") is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche.
In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Olympia. The original venue was destroyed by fire in 1915. Moulin Rouge is southwest of Montmartre, in the Paris district of Pigalle on Boulevard de Clichy in the 18th arrondissement, and has a landmark red windmill on its roof. The closest métro station is Blanche.
Today, the Moulin Rouge is a tourist attraction, offering predominantly musical dance entertainment for visitors from around the world. The club's decor still contains much of the romance of fin de siècle France. source
The sad thing is, four days ago, this happened. It was shocking to read the news, but taking into consideration how old the mill is, most likely maintenance has not been done properly. I've been to Paris and have seen the Moulin Rouge and had Notre Dame burning feeling. Good thing it wasn't anything like that. Anyway, let's get back to the exhibition, shall we?
You have the original above on the screenshot and the painting. Obviously the artist took the liberty to let her imagination free and depict the famous mill as she sees it. If you have a close look, you can see there are mainly three colors used here, burning red, yellow and black. Yellow brings out the red very nicely.
Moulin Rouge is best known as the birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance. Originally introduced as a seductive dance by the courtesans who operated from the site, the can-can dance revue evolved into a form of entertainment of its own and led to the introduction of cabarets across Europe. source
The funny thing about this exhibition was that none of the paintings had a title. This means you look at them and think what you want or let the canvas tell you what it can.
This artwork associated with the Moulin Rouge, can only mean one thing and that is the can-can dance.
In my eyes, this is a brilliant depiction of all that can-can means. What makes this artwork more valuable than any other of this kind is that it is made of genuine lather! Not canvas, not watercolor or any other media, it's leather. I don't know if you've ever worked with leather, but I can tell you, it's not an easy material to work with.
Looking at this piece, was wondering if you can see what it is. I'm not going to give it away just yet. Think about it and let me know. Also, let's move on to the next one.
Can you see the similarities? Are you starting to realize what you're seeing? :) By the way, except for the Moulin Rouge painting, all the artworks of this series were made of leather.
Back in the day, when the Moulin Rouge started out and ladies performed Can-Can each night, ladies were wearing corsets. It was a must, it was part of the dressing code but the dancers were not wearing these corsets under their dresses. Sometimes there was only the corset and the skirt.
Looks like the artist used the corset on most of the body parts.
I'm not sure if the artist considers it a series or not, or if there have been other pieces of this theme. I was thinking of its value. Would you sell it piece by piece, or as a series? It would look great on a single wall, or in a single room. Would make more sense as a whole.
I loved this series and although I haven't see many artworks made of leather, this was the most interesting by far.
Let me know what you think, would love to know how you see it.
If you're a newbie, you may want to check out these guides:
