| Absinthe & Art VIII - Georges Goursat "Sem" |
Georges Goursat was born in Perigueux on 22 November 1863. Around 1890 Georges Goursat began to use the moniker “Sem”
when signing his work.
He was invited to Paris in March 1900 by Jean Lorrain, mainly to work in the studio of Cherat. In Paris, Sem lived on the Rue de
Vaugirard and he found his artistic inspiration in visiting the racetracks of Paris, where he watched the members of the Jockey
Club at play. Here he put together the album The Turf, which was immediately considered a great success. He also became
associated with Parisian society, where he was able to observe the privileged, whether at the Restaurant Maxim’s, at the Opera,
at Longchamps, or in the Allée des Acacias .
Sem’s success was not only limited to Parisian high society but also to the masses. He worked regularly on many periodicals,
both humorous and serious, including Le Figaro. He also made many trips to the coast of Normandy, where he painted the sailing
vessels of Deauville and where he put together his albums Paris – Trouville and Tangoville-sur-Mer. He also visited the Cote d’
Azur, where he worked on his albums Monte Carlo and Sem á la Mer Bleue.
Sem’s unique talent made his work very identifiable, particularly because of the essential sobriety of his composition, in which his
characters usually emerge from a white or plain background rather than being more obvious caricatures. His work is particularly
associated with the Belle Epoque and, during this period, he wrote numerous articles chronicling theatre shows, fashion, travel
and artistic reviews. He also created a number of very beautiful posters illustrating subjects like the clowns Footit and Chocolat,
the tourist towns of Deauville, Cannes and Monte Carlo, and also a number of businesses including Benedictine.
Sem died peacefully on 26 November 1934, in his armchair with a book in his hand. He drew in a personal way, with great
success, and was rewarded during his lifetime with both fame and fortune.
when signing his work.
He was invited to Paris in March 1900 by Jean Lorrain, mainly to work in the studio of Cherat. In Paris, Sem lived on the Rue de
Vaugirard and he found his artistic inspiration in visiting the racetracks of Paris, where he watched the members of the Jockey
Club at play. Here he put together the album The Turf, which was immediately considered a great success. He also became
associated with Parisian society, where he was able to observe the privileged, whether at the Restaurant Maxim’s, at the Opera,
at Longchamps, or in the Allée des Acacias .
Sem’s success was not only limited to Parisian high society but also to the masses. He worked regularly on many periodicals,
both humorous and serious, including Le Figaro. He also made many trips to the coast of Normandy, where he painted the sailing
vessels of Deauville and where he put together his albums Paris – Trouville and Tangoville-sur-Mer. He also visited the Cote d’
Azur, where he worked on his albums Monte Carlo and Sem á la Mer Bleue.
Sem’s unique talent made his work very identifiable, particularly because of the essential sobriety of his composition, in which his
characters usually emerge from a white or plain background rather than being more obvious caricatures. His work is particularly
associated with the Belle Epoque and, during this period, he wrote numerous articles chronicling theatre shows, fashion, travel
and artistic reviews. He also created a number of very beautiful posters illustrating subjects like the clowns Footit and Chocolat,
the tourist towns of Deauville, Cannes and Monte Carlo, and also a number of businesses including Benedictine.
Sem died peacefully on 26 November 1934, in his armchair with a book in his hand. He drew in a personal way, with great
success, and was rewarded during his lifetime with both fame and fortune.
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Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger (April 29, 1837 – September 30, 1891) was a French general and right-wing politician, who briefly
seemed to threaten a coup d'état against the parliamentary Republic.
Born in Rennes, Boulanger graduated from Saint-Cyr and entered regular service in the French Army in 1856. He fought in the Austro-
Sardinian War (he was wounded at Rochebetto, where he received the Légion d'honneur), and in the occupation of Cochin China, after
which he became a captain and instructor at Saint-Cyr. During the Franco-Prussian War, Georges Boulanger was noted for his bravery,
and soon promoted to chef de bataillon; he was again wounded while fighting at Champigny-sur-Marne (during the Siege of Paris).
Subsequently, Boulanger was among the Third Republic military leaders who crushed the Paris Commune in April-May 1871. He was
wounded as he led troops to the siege of the Panthéon, and was promoted commandeur of the Légion d'honneur by Patrice Mac-Mahon.
However, he was soon demoted (as his position was considered provisional), and his resignation in protest was rejected.
With backing from his direct superior, Henri d'Orléans, duc d'Aumale (incidentally, one of the sons of former king Louis-Philippe),
Boulanger was made a brigadier-general in 1880, and in 1882 War Minister Jean-Baptiste Billot appointed him director of infantry at the
war office, enabling him to make a name as a military reformer (he took measures to improve morale and efficiency). In 1884 he was
appointed to command the army occupying Tunis, but was recalled owing to his differences of opinion with Pierre-Paul Cambon, the
political resident. He returned to Paris, and began to take part in politics under the aegis of Georges Clemenceau and the Radicals; in
January 1886, when Charles de Freycinet was brought into power by the support of the Radical leader, Boulanger was given the post of
War Minister - replacing Jean-Baptiste-Marie Campenon. It was in this capacity that Boulanger gained most popularity. He introduced
reforms for the benefit of soldiers (such as allowing soldiers to grow beards) and appealed to the French desire for revenge against
Imperial Germany - in doing so, came to be regarded as the man destined to serve that revenge (nicknamed Général Revanche). He
also managed to quell the major workers' strike in Decazeville. A minor scandal arose when Philippe, Comte de Paris, the nominal
inheritor of the French throne in the eyes of Orléanist monarchists, married his daughter Amélie to Portugal's Carlos I, in a lavish
wedding that provoked fears of anti-Republican ambitions. The French Parliament hastily passed a law expelling all possible claimants
to the crown from French territories. Boulanger found himself in the unusual posture of a monarchist sympathiser forced to communicate
to d'Aumale his expulsion from the armed forces. He received the adulation of the public and press after the Sino-French War, when
France's victory added Tonkin to its colonial empire.
seemed to threaten a coup d'état against the parliamentary Republic.
Born in Rennes, Boulanger graduated from Saint-Cyr and entered regular service in the French Army in 1856. He fought in the Austro-
Sardinian War (he was wounded at Rochebetto, where he received the Légion d'honneur), and in the occupation of Cochin China, after
which he became a captain and instructor at Saint-Cyr. During the Franco-Prussian War, Georges Boulanger was noted for his bravery,
and soon promoted to chef de bataillon; he was again wounded while fighting at Champigny-sur-Marne (during the Siege of Paris).
Subsequently, Boulanger was among the Third Republic military leaders who crushed the Paris Commune in April-May 1871. He was
wounded as he led troops to the siege of the Panthéon, and was promoted commandeur of the Légion d'honneur by Patrice Mac-Mahon.
However, he was soon demoted (as his position was considered provisional), and his resignation in protest was rejected.
With backing from his direct superior, Henri d'Orléans, duc d'Aumale (incidentally, one of the sons of former king Louis-Philippe),
Boulanger was made a brigadier-general in 1880, and in 1882 War Minister Jean-Baptiste Billot appointed him director of infantry at the
war office, enabling him to make a name as a military reformer (he took measures to improve morale and efficiency). In 1884 he was
appointed to command the army occupying Tunis, but was recalled owing to his differences of opinion with Pierre-Paul Cambon, the
political resident. He returned to Paris, and began to take part in politics under the aegis of Georges Clemenceau and the Radicals; in
January 1886, when Charles de Freycinet was brought into power by the support of the Radical leader, Boulanger was given the post of
War Minister - replacing Jean-Baptiste-Marie Campenon. It was in this capacity that Boulanger gained most popularity. He introduced
reforms for the benefit of soldiers (such as allowing soldiers to grow beards) and appealed to the French desire for revenge against
Imperial Germany - in doing so, came to be regarded as the man destined to serve that revenge (nicknamed Général Revanche). He
also managed to quell the major workers' strike in Decazeville. A minor scandal arose when Philippe, Comte de Paris, the nominal
inheritor of the French throne in the eyes of Orléanist monarchists, married his daughter Amélie to Portugal's Carlos I, in a lavish
wedding that provoked fears of anti-Republican ambitions. The French Parliament hastily passed a law expelling all possible claimants
to the crown from French territories. Boulanger found himself in the unusual posture of a monarchist sympathiser forced to communicate
to d'Aumale his expulsion from the armed forces. He received the adulation of the public and press after the Sino-French War, when
France's victory added Tonkin to its colonial empire.
Boulanger's name was briefly implicated in the political corruption scandal surrounding Daniel Wilson, the President's son-in-law, and
his illegal traffic in medals and awards. Nonetheless, his position became essential after President Jules Grévy was forced to resign: in
January 1888, the boulangistes promised to back any candidate for the presidency that would in turn offer his support to Boulanger for
the post of War Minister (France was a parliamentary republic). The crisis was cut short by the election of Marie François Sadi Carnot and
the appointment of Pierre Tirard as Prime Minister - Tirard refused to include Boulanger in his cabinet. During the period, Boulanger was
in Switzerland, where he met with Jérôme Napoleon Bonaparte II, technically a Bonapartist, who offered his full support to the cause. The
Bonapartists had attached themselves to the general, and even the Comte de Paris encouraged his followers to support him.
his illegal traffic in medals and awards. Nonetheless, his position became essential after President Jules Grévy was forced to resign: in
January 1888, the boulangistes promised to back any candidate for the presidency that would in turn offer his support to Boulanger for
the post of War Minister (France was a parliamentary republic). The crisis was cut short by the election of Marie François Sadi Carnot and
the appointment of Pierre Tirard as Prime Minister - Tirard refused to include Boulanger in his cabinet. During the period, Boulanger was
in Switzerland, where he met with Jérôme Napoleon Bonaparte II, technically a Bonapartist, who offered his full support to the cause. The
Bonapartists had attached themselves to the general, and even the Comte de Paris encouraged his followers to support him.
On Freycinet's defeat in December of the same year, Boulanger was retained by
René Goblet at the war office. Confident of political support, the general began
provoking the Germans: he ordered military facilities to be built in the border region
of Belfort, forbade the export of horses to German markets, and even instigated a
ban on representations of Lohengrin. Germany responded by calling to arms more
than 70,000 reservists in February 1887; after the Schnaebele incident, war was
prevented only through political difficulties on either side. Boulanger became a risk
for the Goblet government, and was engaged in a dispute with Foreign Minister
Gustave Flourens. On May 17, Goblet was voted out of office and replaced by
Maurice Rouvier. The latter sacked Boulanger, and replaced him with Théophile
Adrien Ferron on May 30.
The government was astonished by the revelation that Boulanger had received
around 100,000 votes for the partial election in Seine, without him even being a
candidate. He was removed from the Paris region, and appointed commander of
the troops stationed in Clermont-Ferrand. Upon his departure on July 8, a crowd of
ten thousand took the Gare de Lyon by storm, covering his train with posters titled Il
reviendra ("He'll be back"), and blocking the railway for the following three hours.
The general decided to gather support for his own movement, an eclectic one that
capitalized on the frustrations of French conservatism, advocating the three
principles of Revanche (Revenge on Germany), Révision (Revision of the
Constitution), Restauration (the return to monarchy). The common reference to it
has become Boulangisme, a term used by its partisans and adversaries alike.
Immediately, the option was backed by notable figueres such as Henri Rochefort,
Count Arthur Dillon, Alfred Joseph Naquet, Anne de Mortemart-Rochechouart
(Duchess of Uzès, who financed him with immense sums), Arthur Meyer, Paul
Déroulède (and his Ligue des Patriotes).
René Goblet at the war office. Confident of political support, the general began
provoking the Germans: he ordered military facilities to be built in the border region
of Belfort, forbade the export of horses to German markets, and even instigated a
ban on representations of Lohengrin. Germany responded by calling to arms more
than 70,000 reservists in February 1887; after the Schnaebele incident, war was
prevented only through political difficulties on either side. Boulanger became a risk
for the Goblet government, and was engaged in a dispute with Foreign Minister
Gustave Flourens. On May 17, Goblet was voted out of office and replaced by
Maurice Rouvier. The latter sacked Boulanger, and replaced him with Théophile
Adrien Ferron on May 30.
The government was astonished by the revelation that Boulanger had received
around 100,000 votes for the partial election in Seine, without him even being a
candidate. He was removed from the Paris region, and appointed commander of
the troops stationed in Clermont-Ferrand. Upon his departure on July 8, a crowd of
ten thousand took the Gare de Lyon by storm, covering his train with posters titled Il
reviendra ("He'll be back"), and blocking the railway for the following three hours.
The general decided to gather support for his own movement, an eclectic one that
capitalized on the frustrations of French conservatism, advocating the three
principles of Revanche (Revenge on Germany), Révision (Revision of the
Constitution), Restauration (the return to monarchy). The common reference to it
has become Boulangisme, a term used by its partisans and adversaries alike.
Immediately, the option was backed by notable figueres such as Henri Rochefort,
Count Arthur Dillon, Alfred Joseph Naquet, Anne de Mortemart-Rochechouart
(Duchess of Uzès, who financed him with immense sums), Arthur Meyer, Paul
Déroulède (and his Ligue des Patriotes).
Although he was not in fact a legal candidate for the French Chamber of Deputies (since he was a military man), Boulanger ran with
Bonapartist backing in seven separate départements. Soon expelled from the army, he refined his political program in order to attract
forces opposing the Republic for distinct reasons, and promised to use his political capital for the creation of a Constituent Assembly;
from that moment on, boulangiste candidates were present in every département. Consequently, he and many of his supporters were
voted to the Chamber, and accompanied by a large crowd on July 12, the day of their swearing in.
The boulangistes were, nonetheless, a minority in the Chamber. Since Boulanger could not pass legislation, his actions were directed to
maintaining his public image. Neither his failure as an orator nor his defeat in a duel with Charles Thomas Floquet, then an elderly
civilian, reduced the enthusiasm of his popular following.
During 1888 his personality was the dominating feature of French politics, and, when he resigned his seat as a protest against the
reception given by the Chamber to his proposals, constituencies vied with one another in selecting him as their representative. His name
was the theme of the popular song C'est Boulanger qu'il nous faut ("Boulanger Is the One We Need"), he and his black horse became
the idol of the Parisian population, and he was urged to run for the presidency. The general agreed, but his personal ambitions soon
alienated his republican supporters, who recognised in him a potential military dictator. Numerous monarchists continued to give him
financial aid, even though Boulanger saw himself as a leader rather than a restorer of kings.
Bonapartist backing in seven separate départements. Soon expelled from the army, he refined his political program in order to attract
forces opposing the Republic for distinct reasons, and promised to use his political capital for the creation of a Constituent Assembly;
from that moment on, boulangiste candidates were present in every département. Consequently, he and many of his supporters were
voted to the Chamber, and accompanied by a large crowd on July 12, the day of their swearing in.
The boulangistes were, nonetheless, a minority in the Chamber. Since Boulanger could not pass legislation, his actions were directed to
maintaining his public image. Neither his failure as an orator nor his defeat in a duel with Charles Thomas Floquet, then an elderly
civilian, reduced the enthusiasm of his popular following.
During 1888 his personality was the dominating feature of French politics, and, when he resigned his seat as a protest against the
reception given by the Chamber to his proposals, constituencies vied with one another in selecting him as their representative. His name
was the theme of the popular song C'est Boulanger qu'il nous faut ("Boulanger Is the One We Need"), he and his black horse became
the idol of the Parisian population, and he was urged to run for the presidency. The general agreed, but his personal ambitions soon
alienated his republican supporters, who recognised in him a potential military dictator. Numerous monarchists continued to give him
financial aid, even though Boulanger saw himself as a leader rather than a restorer of kings.
In January 1889, he ran as a deputy for Paris, and, after an intense campaign, took the seat with 244,000 votes against the 160,000 of his
main adversary. A coup d'état seemed probable, and was as Boulanger had now become a threat to the parliamentary Republic. Had he
immediately placed himself at the head of a revolt he might have effected the coup which many of his partisans had worked for, and
might even have governed France; but the opportunity passed with his procrastination on January 27. Ernest Constant, the Minister of the
Interior, decided to investigate the matter, and attacked the Ligue des Patriotes using the law banning the activities of secret societies.
main adversary. A coup d'état seemed probable, and was as Boulanger had now become a threat to the parliamentary Republic. Had he
immediately placed himself at the head of a revolt he might have effected the coup which many of his partisans had worked for, and
might even have governed France; but the opportunity passed with his procrastination on January 27. Ernest Constant, the Minister of the
Interior, decided to investigate the matter, and attacked the Ligue des Patriotes using the law banning the activities of secret societies.
Shortly afterward the French government issued a warrant for his arrest for conspiracy and treasonable activity. To the astonishment of
his supporters, on April 1 he fled from Paris before it could be executed, going first to Brussels and then to London. On April 4, the
Parliament stripped him of his immunity from prosecution; the French Senate condemned him, Rochefort, and Count Dillon for treason,
sentencing all three to deportation and confinement.
After his flight, support for him dwindled, and the Boulangists were defeated in the general elections of July 1889 (after the government
forbade Boulanger from running). Boulanger himself went to live in Jersey before returning to the Ixelles Cemetery in Brussels in
September 1891 to commit suicide by a bullet to the head on the grave of his mistress, Madame de Bonnemains (née Marguerite
Crouzet) who had died in the preceding July. He was interred in the same grave in Ixelles. He indeed committed suicide on his own
(future) grave.
Several incidents followed Boulanger's death, including an armed attack carried out by a boulangiste against the Republican politician
Jules Ferry, in December of the same year. Although largely discredited, the trend started by Boulanger was still visible inside the far right
(the anti-Dreyfusards) during France's next major scandal, the Dreyfus Affair.
his supporters, on April 1 he fled from Paris before it could be executed, going first to Brussels and then to London. On April 4, the
Parliament stripped him of his immunity from prosecution; the French Senate condemned him, Rochefort, and Count Dillon for treason,
sentencing all three to deportation and confinement.
After his flight, support for him dwindled, and the Boulangists were defeated in the general elections of July 1889 (after the government
forbade Boulanger from running). Boulanger himself went to live in Jersey before returning to the Ixelles Cemetery in Brussels in
September 1891 to commit suicide by a bullet to the head on the grave of his mistress, Madame de Bonnemains (née Marguerite
Crouzet) who had died in the preceding July. He was interred in the same grave in Ixelles. He indeed committed suicide on his own
(future) grave.
Several incidents followed Boulanger's death, including an armed attack carried out by a boulangiste against the Republican politician
Jules Ferry, in December of the same year. Although largely discredited, the trend started by Boulanger was still visible inside the far right
(the anti-Dreyfusards) during France's next major scandal, the Dreyfus Affair.
Oil on canvas, measuring 55cm x 46cm, by Georges Goursat dit Sem. A pipe smoking General
Boulanger is shown sitting on a matchstriker, wearing a striped swimming costume (possibly a
reference to him having fled across the Channel to England) and bathing his feet in a glass of
Pernod (perhaps a sign of homesickness for France?).
More information on the iconography of this painting is urgently required:
Does the costume relate to his flight to England, or to something else?
Was the general a heavy absinthe drinker (as was, for instance, his contemporary Camille
Pelletan)? Boulanger was certainly known as a morphine user, but I've not been able to trace a
reference to a special fondness for absinthe in the standard biographies.
If you can shed any light at all on these questions, please email Oxygénée.
Boulanger is shown sitting on a matchstriker, wearing a striped swimming costume (possibly a
reference to him having fled across the Channel to England) and bathing his feet in a glass of
Pernod (perhaps a sign of homesickness for France?).
More information on the iconography of this painting is urgently required:
Does the costume relate to his flight to England, or to something else?
Was the general a heavy absinthe drinker (as was, for instance, his contemporary Camille
Pelletan)? Boulanger was certainly known as a morphine user, but I've not been able to trace a
reference to a special fondness for absinthe in the standard biographies.
If you can shed any light at all on these questions, please email Oxygénée.
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