Georges Clairin

This whimsical sheet celebrates the renowned French actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923). Clairin, along with Alphonse Mucha, was largely responsible for spreading Bernhardt's fame through his depiction of the actress, who was also a close friend. An old inscription on the verso claims it was created on the occasion of her debut in Octave Mirbeau's tragedy about striking workers, Les mauvais bergers, which premiered at the Theatre de la Renaissance in December 1897. Bernhardt was director of the theater from 1893-1899, and played the starring role of Madeleine, the pregnant lover of Jean Roule, the anarchic leader of the strike played by Lucien Guitry. This is contradicted, however, by Clairin's inscription on the drawing at lower right, which records that this "souvenir of thin friendships and fat friendships" was executed on Friday, 17 January 1896 at 1 in the afternoon. This highly specific inscription seems to mark a moment of revelry with Bernhardt and Mirbeau. Bernardt's performance inspired an outpouring of support with flower deliveries and an abundance of oysters at left, while the steam from hot dishes at right indicate a feast worthy of the "enfants de gargantua." At center, there is an apotheosis of Mirbeau (1848-1917) who offers wine (Porto Rico, "mon sang") and a gateaux, at Le Maire restaurant in Paris, a fashionable establishment captured in contemporary prints and perhaps the site of the meal. At lower right, we see the artist himself, emaciated and astride his palette. Along the upper edge of the sheet Clairin has jotted down lyrics and a bar of music from Izeyl a "Buddhist" drama set in India during the fifth century BC, written by Armand Sylvestre and Eugene Morand, with costumes devised by Clairin and the actress. The play premiered in 1894 and was written to be Bernhardt's "comeback vehicle," and Bernhardt toured with it in England and America to popular (if not critical) success. Bernhardt's love of feasts and her celebrated status were the driving force behind the declaration of 9 December 1896 as Sarah Bernhardt Day in Paris. A dinner for 600 was held at the Grand Hotel in the Place de l'Opera, followed by a parade of carriages to her theater where performances were held in her honor. There were posters made of the menu and Clairin made a frontispiece for a related, thirty-one page quarto publication, Journee Sarah Bernhardt. Naturally the menu starts with Huitres Ostende, a favorite of Bernhardt's also reflected in the present drawing.