ABSTRACT
The figure with the defiant stance, the wide-brimmed hat, the cloak and the red scarf is an internationally familiar icon thanks to the famous poster by Toulouse Lautrec. On the other hand, one has also to consider the precursors of the music-hall artist, divas of the cafe-concert such as Theresa, who were the popular superstars of their day, idolised by the press; but they did not create their own material. The inimitable gouaille, the thick Parisian accent, the raucous voice, the aggressive bawdiness all correspond to the images audience have of Aristide Bruant, and not only those by Toulouse-Lautrec, but those by Steinlen and many more. The main feature of Bruant's songs is their re-creation of a kind of lumpenproletariat drawn from the different quarters of Paris. Mathieu Mireille was luckier than Yvette Guilbert, in that her international Jewish family background, whilst not wealthy, managed even so to give her a musical training as a pianist at the Paris Conservatoire.
