Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen, Tournée du Chat Noir, 1896, 135.9 x 95.9 cm, The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Le Chat Noir (French for "The Black Cat") was a famous 19th century cabaret in the notoriously bohemian Montmartre district of Paris. It was opened on 18 November 1881 at 84 Boulevard Rouchechouart by the artist Rodolphe Salis, and closed in 1897 (much to the disappointment of Picasso and others who looked for it when they came to Paris for the Exposition in 1900). Its imitators have included cabarets from St. Petersburg (The Stray Dog) to Barcelona (Els Quatre Gats). Image File history File links Steinlein-chatnoir. ... Image File history File links Steinlein-chatnoir. ... 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue — a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting around the tables (often dining or drinking) watching the performance. ... Montmartre seen from the centre Georges Pompidou (1897), a painting by Camille Pissarro of the boulevard that led to Montmartre as seen from his hotel room. ... The Eiffel Tower, the international symbol of the city, with the skyscrapers of La Défense business district 5 km/ 3 mi behind. ... November 18 is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1881 (MDCCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... Barcelona is the capital city of Catalonia, an autonomous community in Spain. ...

Perhaps best known now by its iconic Théophile-Alexandre Steinlein poster art, in its heyday it was a bustling nightclub - part artist salon, part rowdy music hall, partially due to an illegal piano. The cabaret published its own journal Le Chat Noir. It began as a small, two room affair, but within three and a half years its popularity forced it to move into larger accommodations a few doors down. Salis most often played, with exaggerated, ironic politeness, the role of conférencier (post-performance lecturer, or MC). It was here that the Salon des Arts Incohérents (Salon of Incoherent Arts), the "shadow plays" and the comic monologues got their start. Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, born November 10, 1859 – died December 13, 1923, was a Swiss-born French Art Nouveau painter and printmaker. ...

According to Salis: "The Chat Noir is the most extraordinary cabaret in the world. You rub shoulders with the most famous men of Paris, meeting there with foreigners from every corner of the world."

Famous patrons of the Chat Noir included Adolphe Willette, Caran d'Ache, André Gill, Emile Cohl, Paul Bilhaud, Paul Verlaine, Henri Rivière, Claude Debussy, Erik Satie, Charles Cros, Jules Laforgue, Charles Moréas, Albert Samain, Louis Le Cardonnel, Coquelin Cadet, Emile Goudeau, Alphonse Allais, Maurice Rollinat, Maurice Donnay, Armand Masson, Aristide Bruant, Paul Signac, Yvette Guilbert, August Strindberg, and George Auriol. 1889 French elections poster for self-described anti-Semitic candidate Adolphe-Léon Willette: The Jews are a different race, hostile to ours. ... Caran dAches most famous cartoon. ... Émile Cohl (January 4, 1857 - January 20, 1938), born Émile Eugène Jean Louis Courtet, was a French caricaturist of the largely-forgotten Incoherent movement, cartoonist, and animator, called The Father of the Animated Cartoon and The Oldest Parisian. The Courtet family has been traced back to the 10th century... Paul Verlaine illustrated in the frontispiece of , 1902 Paul Marie Verlaine (March 30, 1844 – January 8, 1896) is considered one of the greatest and most popular of French poets. ... Henri Laurent Rivière (July 12, 1827 - May 19, 1883) was a French naval officer and a writer. ... Claude Debussy Achille-Claude Debussy () (August 22, 1862 – March 25, 1918) was a French composer. ... Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (Honfleur, 17 May 1866 – Paris, 1 July 1925) was a French composer and pianist. ... Charles Cros (October 1, 1842 - August 9, 1888) was a French poet and inventor. ... Jules Laforgue (August 16, 1860–August 20, 1887) was a French poet born in Montevideo, Uruguay. ... Albert Samain (1858-1900) was a French poet and writer of the Symbolist school. ... Alphonse Allais (October 20, 1854 - October 28, 1905) was a French writer and humorist, born in Honfleur, Calvados. ... Maurice Rollinat, 1853-1903 Maurice Rollinat (born December 29. ... Aristide Bruant (May 6, 1851 – February 10, 1925) was a French cabaret singer, comedian, and nightclub owner who is best recognized as the man in the red scarf and black cape on the famous posters by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. ... Paul Signac (November 11, 1863 - August 15, 1935) was a French neo-impressionist painter who, working with Georges Seurat, helped develop the pointillist style. ... Yvette Guilbert, born January 20, 1867 in Paris, France – died February 4, 1944 in Aix-en-Provence, was a music-hall singer and actress. ... August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg â–¶(?) (January 22, 1849 – May 14, 1912) was a Swedish writer, playwright and painter. ...

External links

• Le Chat Noir Poster Art