LAfLEUR by JULIEN bARbIER

english
Lafleur by
Julien Barbier
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Inv. D
Traditional French Puppets Room
Name, first name
Height
The theatre world gives the comedy
valet character more than his due.
Popular French names are given to
for soldiers and lackeys/footmen
between the 16th and 18th c. included:
La Rose (Rose), La Feuille (Leaf), La
Tulipe (Tulip)… Lafleur (Flower)!
Type of puppets
Lafleur
A cabotan
In Amiens, puppets are called
cabotins or cabotans in the Picardy
dialect. In the 19th c., Amiens boasted
some sixty cabotan theatres, making
it the French capital for rod and
string puppets.
Following the decline in the early
20th c., the 1930s saw a revival with
the creation of the Amis de Lafleur
society and “Chés Cabotans” –
touring theatre founded in 1933 by Maurice Domon (1903-1983).
Françoise Rose took up the torch in 1966 and continued the
cabotin tradition as an intrinsic part of family life.
Date and place of birth,
nationality
early 20th c., Amiens, Picardy - French
grey words: items that can be seen in this room
Birth of a popular hero: the various facts
In 1649, on the occasion of the 15 August celebration in honour
of the Virgin Mary, Mr. de Coquerel, dissatisfied with his place in
the procession, asked his valet, Lafleur, to create a disruption. As
this type of incident was considered extremely serious, the valet
was arrested, judged and hanged. This unfortunate incident,
taken on board by the puppet theatres, created a character with
a particular notoriety.
In the early 19th c., Lafleur made his appearance in comic scenes
before replacing Pulcinella as the main lead in clowning antics
and dramas in Amiens theatres in the early 20th c. La Nativité
and La Tentation de Saint-Antoine, emerging from the crèche
theatre, are also major topics covered in the Amiens cabotin
theatres (see Crèche théâtre room sheet).
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MARIONNETTES DU MONDE
64,5cm without rods,
135,7cm with the rod system
rod and string puppet
Technique and manipulation
Wooden puppets sculpted from lime wood, the cabotins belong to
the family of rod and string puppets. Apart from the rod, which is
firmly fixed in position in the head, they also have two strings for
the arms. Only Lafleur and Pulcinella have strings connected to
the legs. Although Lafleur’s arms are jointed, his legs are straight,
which enable him to do his legendary kick with the right foot.
Physical appearance
well-built young man, with a broad smile
and coloured complexion, valet livery
Lafleur’s appearance
When he made his appearance in the very early part of the 19th c.,
Lafleur wore an 18th c. costume: This is the livery of the comedy
valet – a French styled apparel in Utrecht velvet, a floral waistcoat
with a leaf pattern against a white background, short, dark red
trousers, a white shirt with jabot, white stockings, wide shoes
with a metal tip, a three-cornered hat (tricorne) trimmed in red
and decorated with a feather, and a stiff bow.
In the late 19th c., Lafleur relinquished this elegant costume in
favour of a jacket with a simple cut made from Amiens velvet,
and striped, red and white stockings. Only the valet’s traditional
hairstyle – tied back with a bow – persisted.
Special features
Picardy dialect
Lafleur, the icon of the regional identity of Picardy
Lafleur, king of Saint-Leu (medieval district of Amiens), expresses
himself in the Picardy dialect, which is not the case for all of the
characters in the cabotan theatre: He also acquired the status
of defender of the Picardy language. Towards the end of the
19th c., the men of letters who committed to saving the language
of Picardy relied on the success of the puppet theatre where
clowning antics and comedies were delivered in the Picardy
dialect: e.g. Henry Daussy, of the Academy of Amiens – the first
.../...
Lafleur historiographer.
You may find the notice boards of the museum rooms on our website,
at www.gadagne.musees.lyon.fr
Lafleur by Julien Barbier
english
Profession
valet, rebellious, mocking spirit, defender
of the downtrodden
A popular hero
The valet, Lafleur, expresses the popular good sense and pride
of his region. He is a liar, but is always cheerful crafty and has a
twinkling eye. His motto is: “Bien boère, bien mâtcher et ne rien
fouère” (drink well, eat well and do nothing).
Championing the cause of the humble and persecuted, he rebelled.
His commitment to make justice triumph over oppression earned
him the status of a popular hero of Picardy.
Extract from the programme
La tradition picarde (The Picardy
Tradition) Chès Cabotans d’Amiens,
Maurice Domon, Théâtre des Chès
Cabotans, 1947, Inv 47.33415
,
Father s name
Julien Barbier (Amiens 1869-1932)
An “original copy“
From the age of ten, Julien Barbier played in the theatre of his
father, Jules Barbier (1828-1914), namely in the Théâtre des
Bouffes Picards, which he then managed from 1902 onwards.
Following its closure in 1911, he regularly played the role of
Lafleur in theatre plays. In 1928, he sold part of his cabotin
collection to Léopold Dor, a Parisian collector: This collection,
which was given to the National Museum of Popular Arts and
Traditions in Paris in 1955, was donated to the Gadagne Museum
in 1956 and forms the focal point of the collection of traditional
puppets in the International Puppet Museum.
Family
a young man with a large following
Alone to start with, as the years went by, Lafleur became surrounded
by a multitude of characters dressed in 19th c. costume.
The Lafleur tape (see: La chanson des cabotans d’Amiens, Place
au spectacle circuit in the projection case)
Tchot Blaise or Little (Petit) Blaise, who is timid and naive,
often suggests the funniest of ideas to Lafleur. “He’s definitely
the funniest of the cabotins”. Sandrine, sometimes his friend,
sometimes his wife, is depicted as stubborn and affectionate.
“More of a preacher than an old parish priest […] honest and
courageous.” Papa Cucu, Papa Tchu Tchu in Picardy, is a caricature
of the miserly middle class and a symbol of conservatism. “With
his saggy bum and his fat belly, here comes papa Tchu Tchu who’s
so grumpy”.
Criminal record
numerous skirmishes with the authorities
But the Lafleur exposed is not the one played by Julien
Barbier throughout his career: because the latter refused to
be separated from Lafleur, expressing a wish to be buried with
him. L. Dor therefore asked him to make an exact copy, which
you see before you.
A legendary kick
Rural or town policemen: these representatives of law and order
are Lafleur’s whipping boys. Their intervention punctuates every
plot: The hero raises his triumphant foot, keeping the right leg
straight, aims and knocks them over. That’s how the comedy
invariably ends.
Foreign visas
1956
1955
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MARIONNETTES DU MONDE
You may find the notice boards of the museum rooms on our website,
at www.gadagne.musees.lyon.fr
D. Jacotet / M. Canonne / P. Gausset / photo credits : R. Agustin © musées Gadagne
grey words: items that can be seen in this room
Julien Barbier and his players, last performance El Naissanche ed l’Einfant Jésus,
Rosatis Society, 1928, SN