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Rivière's Chat Noir colleagues had introduced him to the artistic potential of silhouettes, motivating him to explore the shadow theater as a modern
medium. Significantly, the shadow theater merged the two-dimensional aesthetics of the visual arts with characteristics intrinsic to theater: movement and the interactions of music and voice. The three most popular shadow theater
productions were L'Epopée (1888) by Caran d'Ache, and La Tentation de Saint Antoine (1887), and, seen recreated here, La Marche à l'étoile
(1890), both by Rivière. In Rivière's shadow theater, cut-out silhouettes of figures, animals, elements of landscapes, and so forth, could be moved behind the screen on runners within a wooden frame. A succession of larger-to-smaller silhouettes created perspectival illusion. The silhouettes were at first made of cardboard and then, in 1888 with the first full-scale production of
L'Epopée, of zinc. Behind the silhouettes were sliding structures supporting glass panels painted in a variety of transparent colors. At the very back, an oxyhydrogen flame provided the light source. The bold
composition, colors, and silhouettes of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's 1891 poster for the Moulin Rouge dance hall reveal the dramatic influence of shadow theater effects on vanguard art at the end of the century. Founded in
November 1881, the Chat Noir closed in February 1897, a month before Salis's death. Its greatest legacy was Rivière's shadow theater, which was the cabaret's largest public attraction. Over the years, thousands upon thousands of
spectators viewed the Chat Noir's shadow theater productions where aristocrats, politicians, generals, scientists, adventurers, and tourists sat side-by-side with artists, writers, actors, and actresses. |
