''Le Rire'' (, "Laughter") was a successful French humor

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

published from October 1894 until its final issue in April 1971. Founded in Paris during the

Belle Époque The Belle Époque () or La Belle Époque () was a period of French and European history that began after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and continued until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era of the Fr ...

by Felix Juven, ''Le Rire'' appeared as typical Parisians began to achieve more education, income and leisure time. Interest in the arts, culture and politics intensified during the

Gay Nineties The Gay Nineties is an American nostalgic term and a periodization of the history of the United States referring to the decade of the 1890s. It is known in the United Kingdom as the Naughty Nineties, and refers there to the decade of supposedl ...

. Publications like this helped satisfy such curiosity. It was the most successful of all the "Journaux Humoristiques." The Dreyfus Affair occurred in 1894 and ''Le Rire'' was one of many publications to tap anti-Republican sentiment in wake of that scandal. It was a time in which French governance was frequently characterized by corruption and mismanagement. Government ministers and military officials became frequent targets. The satirical journal was filled with excellent drawings by prominent artists. It featured full-page chromotypographs on both covers and in the centerfold. Many of these pieces are now highly desirable

collectible A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...

s. The most prominent contributor was Théophile Steinlen. His illustrations were biting

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...

s of the political "jackasses" of the day. Illustrations were contributed by artists such as

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 ...

, Georges Goursat, René Georges Hermann-Paul,

Juan Gris José Victoriano González-Pérez (23 March 1887 – 11 May 1927), better known as Juan Gris (; ), was a Spanish painter born in Madrid who lived and worked in France for most of his active period. Closely connected to the innovative artistic g ...

, Lucien Metivet, Georges Meunier, Jean-Louis Forain,

Adolphe Willette Adolphe Léon Willette (30 July 1857 – 4 February 1926) was a French Painting, painter, illustrator, caricaturist, and lithographer, as well as an architect of the famous Moulin Rouge cabaret. Willette ran as an "antisemitism, anti-semitic" c ...

, Joaquín Xaudaró, Leonetto Cappiello, Albert Guillaume, Manuel Luque, Jules Grandjouan,

Abel Faivre Jules Abel Faivre (30 March 1867 – 13 August 1945) was a French painter, illustrator and cartoonist. Early life and work Jules Abel Faivre was born in Lyon, France. He attended École nationale des beaux-arts de Lyon for three years. He then ...

, and Jules-Alexandre Grun. During the

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

era, cabarets and cafes were crowded with personalities and Parisians could catch glimpses of the stars of the day. ''Le Rire'' was there to capture scene for its readers. Its pages depicted the likes of

Yvette Guilbert Yvette Guilbert (; born Emma Laure Esther Guilbert, 20 January 1865 – 3 February 1944) was a French cabaret singer and actress of the Belle Époque. Biography Emma Laure Esther Guilbert was born in Paris on 20 January 1865 to a modestly w ...

, Polaire,

Jane Avril Jane Avril (9 June 186817 January 1943) was a French can-can dancer at the Moulin Rouge in Paris and a frequent subject of painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's art. Extremely thin and "given to jerky movements and sudden contortions", she was ni ...

, Réjane and even those of popular visitors to the theaters such as Séverine. The magazine was published for almost sixty years, closing down in the 1950s and later reappearing for a short time in the 1970s.

References

External links

Steinlen.net
- A collection of more than 1,000 Steinlen images
''Le Rire'' - online

''Le rire'' rouge: édition de guerre du journal ''le rire'' - online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rire 1894 establishments in France Defunct magazines published in Paris Satirical magazines published in France Comics magazines published in France Defunct French-language magazines Magazines established in 1894 Magazines disestablished in 1971

See also

References

External links