La Belle Époque

La Belle Époque, the Beautiful Age, was an era in European history characterized by peace, affluence and optimism. There is much speculation to the start of this period. Some say it started with the conclusion of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871; this event occurred around the same time that the Third Republic began. Others attribute the beginning of this period to start closer to the turn of the century. This period of time lasted until 1914 with the start of World War I.

La Belle Époque was a term coined after WWI as society was nostalgic for a time that was untouched by loss, disorder and despair. Regardless of the duration of this period, it was a time of progress in all facets of life such as in technology, art, architecture, science, literature and fashion. The advancements that are distinctive of this period coincided with similar progress that was being made throughout Europe and in the United States. Other eras that occurred around the time of La Belle Époque are Edwardian England, the “Good Years” or the Gilded Age in America and Wilhelmian Germany. While progress was being made throughout the world, Paris was regarded as the epicenter: “Yet probably no other place carries a more captivating image than does Paris during the time of extraordinary elegance and pleasure and genius.”  

The World Fair of 1889 as well as the Universal Exhibition of 1900, both of which were in Paris, were key events that marked the Belle Époque. These exhibitions displayed the architectural feats, the new inventions and discoveries of the time. The Eiffel Tower, built for the World Fair of 1889, along with the important structures of the 1900 Exhibition: the Alexandre III bridge, the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais were important symbols of progress for Paris during this time.

Another advancement that occurred in Paris during this era was transportation. Construction for an underground railway system started in the 1890s and opened to the public at the time of the Universal Exhibition. The creation of the metro system occurred around the same time as art nouveau, an artistic movement which incorporates nature and plants primarily in their work. This concept of art nouveau can be seen in the design of the entrances to the metro stations. We saw some examples of art nouveau in furniture and other materials when we are at the D’Orsay museum last Friday.

Impressionistic and Post-Impressionistic art were other art movements apparent at the time of the Belle Époque. Impressionism began in 1874 when artists such as Monet, Cezanne, Degas, Renoir, Sisley, and Pissarro decided to put on their own art exhibition that was separate from the academy. Their manner of painting was different from the previous art movements because their subject manner focused on modernity and scenes from everyday life. They disregarded antiquity and started a new technique in which they focused on capturing nature how they see it. 

The scenes depicted in impressionistic paintings capture the essence of the Belle Époque as seen in pieces depicting new forms of leisure, for example Degas’s paintings of musicians and dancers, or scenes illustrating cafes and restaurants, for example Manet’s At the Café painting. Impressionistic art also expresses the idea of advancement in the industrial revoltion as seen by Monet’s The Gare Saint-Lazare paintings. An article in the Telegraph describes the Belle Époque as “a time when arts and crafts, cafés and restaurants became more and more available to a rapidly growing middle class with time and money on its hands. For them, and for the artists and architects of the time, beauty meant proportion, decorative detail, elegance.” This idea of the middle class can clearly be seen in the impressionist movement and in the paintings we saw at the D’Orsay museum during our art class.

Some quotes that further describe La Belle Époque:

“The Belle Epoque – is an era that combines a nostalgia for and preoccupation with the old regime and noblesse, while at the same time providing the seedbed for all the modernist currents that we associate with the 20th century.”

"Paris was one great party. There was a spirit of confidence, of joie de vivre, with so many things going on at the same time. Even the future king of England came to Paris to enjoy himself. It was the capital of everything. It was one big party with elements of the funfair about it."

"La belle époque was very fluid artistically; there were lots of different movements and excesses. People were saying, 'we don't know where we are going but lots of things are happening and we are going to have pleasure and fun. We may even mock ourselves, that's how fun it is.”