Louis Rodolphe Salis[1] (29 May 1851 â€" 20 March 1897) was the
creator, host and owner of the Le Chat Noir ("The Black Cat") cabaret
(known briefly in 1881 at its beginning as "Cabaret Artistique.") With
this establishment Salis is remembered as the creator of the modern
cabaret: a nightclub where the patrons could sit at tables with
alcoholic drinks and enjoy variety acts on a stage, introduced by a
master of ceremonies who interacted with the audience.The son of a
distiller in Châtellerault, Salis came to Paris in 1872, after
leaving the regiment in which he had undertaken military service. He
moved into the Hotel de Rome on Rue de Seine, in the Latin Quarter.He
founded "L'école vibrante" (The Vibrant School), soon renamed the
"L'école iriso-subversive de Chicago" (The Chicago Iriso-Subversive
School)[2] in order to draw attention to his artistic group. In fact
he was earning a living by making stations of the cross and other
religious objects, that he and his friends painted."In fact, it [The
School] had the overall intended, but not admitted, immediate aim of
making a series of Stations of the Cross to sell at eight and fourteen
francs each, in a shop selling religious articles in the Saint
Sulpice. The very tedious work was divided between the four "students"
according to their different natures. Rene Gilbert painted heads;
Wagner hands; Antonio de La Gandara draperies; Salis, finally,
backgrounds and landscapes ..."[3]
creator, host and owner of the Le Chat Noir ("The Black Cat") cabaret
(known briefly in 1881 at its beginning as "Cabaret Artistique.") With
this establishment Salis is remembered as the creator of the modern
cabaret: a nightclub where the patrons could sit at tables with
alcoholic drinks and enjoy variety acts on a stage, introduced by a
master of ceremonies who interacted with the audience.The son of a
distiller in Châtellerault, Salis came to Paris in 1872, after
leaving the regiment in which he had undertaken military service. He
moved into the Hotel de Rome on Rue de Seine, in the Latin Quarter.He
founded "L'école vibrante" (The Vibrant School), soon renamed the
"L'école iriso-subversive de Chicago" (The Chicago Iriso-Subversive
School)[2] in order to draw attention to his artistic group. In fact
he was earning a living by making stations of the cross and other
religious objects, that he and his friends painted."In fact, it [The
School] had the overall intended, but not admitted, immediate aim of
making a series of Stations of the Cross to sell at eight and fourteen
francs each, in a shop selling religious articles in the Saint
Sulpice. The very tedious work was divided between the four "students"
according to their different natures. Rene Gilbert painted heads;
Wagner hands; Antonio de La Gandara draperies; Salis, finally,
backgrounds and landscapes ..."[3]
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