Aristide Bruant (; 6 May 1851 – 11 February 1925) was a French cabaret singer, comedian, and nightclub owner. He is best known as the man in the red scarf and black cape featured on certain famous posters by

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Count, ''Comte'' Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901), known as Toulouse-Lautrec (), was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist, and illustrator whose immersion in the colour ...

. He has also been credited as the creator of the '' chanson réaliste'' musical genre.

Biography

Born Louis Armand Aristide Bruand in the village of Courtenay, Loiret in France, Bruant left his home in 1866 at age fifteen, following his father's death, to find employment. Making his way to the

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

Quarter of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, he hung out in the working-class bistros, where he finally was given an opportunity to show his musical talents. Although

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

by birth, he soon adopted the earthy language of his haunts, turning it into songs that told of the struggles of the poor. Bruant began performing at cafe-concerts and developed a singing and comedy act that led to his being signed to appear at the

Le Chat Noir (; French for "The Black Cat") was a 19th century entertainment establishment in the Montmartre district of Paris. It was opened on 18 November 1881 at 84 Boulevard de Rochechouart by impresario Rodolphe Salis, and closed in 1897 not long ...

club. Dressed in a red shirt, black velvet jacket, high boots, and a long red scarf, and using the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Aristide Bruant, he soon became a star of Montmartre, and when

began showing up at the cabarets and clubs, Bruant became one of the artist's first friends. Toulouse-Lautrec designed the now iconic poster of Bruant, with his cape thrown over his shoulders and his famous red scarf around his neck, when he moved to the Café des Ambassadeurs in 1892. In 1885, Bruant opened his own Montmartre club, a place he called "Le Mirliton" (The Reed Pipe). Although he hired other acts, Bruant put on a singing performance of his own. As the master of ceremonies for the various acts, he used the comedy of the insult to poke fun at the club's upper-crust guests who were out "slumming" in Montmartre. His

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

-inspired mix of song, satire and entertainment developed into the musical genre called ''chanson réaliste'' (realist song). He also published a magazine called ''Le Mirliton'', in which he printed illustrations and paintings by Lautrec. Bruant died in Paris and was buried in Subligny's cemetery, near his birthplace in the departement of

Loiret Loiret (; ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It takes its name from the river Loiret, which is contained wholly within the department. In 2019, Loiret had a population of 680,434.

. Rue Bruant in Paris XIII arrondissement was named, not in Aristide's honor, but after the architect Libéral Bruant (1637-1697) whose church of the hospital Salpêtrière was built just north of the street.Hillariet, Jacques. "Dictionaire Historique des Rues de Paris", Les Editions de Minuit, Paris, 1963, vol 1, p. 246.

Songs

Some of Bruant's better known songs include: * Nini Peau d'Chien * A la Bastille * A la Villette * Meunier tu es cocu * A Batignolles * Serrez Vos Rangs * A la Roquette * La chanson des Michetons * A Poissy * A la Place Maubert * Les petits joyeux * Belleville-Menilmontant * La Greviste *

Les Mômes de la Cloche LES or Les may refer to: People * Les (given name) * Les (surname) * L.E.S. (producer), hip hop producer Space flight * Launch Entry Suit, worn by Space Shuttle crews * Launch escape system, for spacecraft emergencies * Lincoln Experimen ...

References

Sources

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External links

*
''Toulouse-Lautrec in the Metropolitan Museum of Art''
a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Aristide Bruant {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruant 1851 births 1925 deaths 19th-century French male singers French male comedians Nightclub owners People of Montmartre People from Loiret