Ok, fine @sanguinarysanguinity. I wasn't going to share "Après le péché" mostly because it's too weird, not because it's too spicy (like Leçon de paysage or La femme du peintre).
I thought it was an angel with a flaming sword chasing Adam and Eve from paradise, not an old guy with a broom—but either way works.
There's the loin-masks seeming to express their true selves, but also why is Adam a bousingot, complete with the silly hat?? It was up to Eve to investigate the Tree of Knowledge since Adam was too busy smoking and reading Le Charivari.
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if there was anything to do, and any "bousingot" to track out, it was in that quarter.
From time to time, parties re-sole their old insults. In 1832, the word bousingot formed the interim between the word jacobin, which had become obsolete, and the word demagogue which has since rendered such excellent service.
Bousingo Fashion: Rash Waistcoats and Scarlet Opinions
something of a companion piece to my recent post on Romantic fashions, dealing with a subset of it --specifically, the Bousingo style, or. What Would Bahorel Wear?
( @badassindistress, this is for you XD)
First, for those who’ve missed my other rambles on the Bousingo/Bouzingo/Bousingots group, a quick description of their general Deal, from Jehan Valter’s account of the premiere of Hugo’s le roi s’amuse:
No doubt, the Bousingots had fought at Hernani and broke their share of seats, but ...The Bosingouts alone were at the barricades of 1832. There is the difference between them and the Jeune-France,... while the Young-France, inspired by the Byronnian sadnesses, hid their health and their good humor under elegiac and morbid exteriors, while they were satisfied with the freedom of the enjambement, and that they dreamed of revolutions as those of art, the Bousingots manifested political sentiments of extreme violence at least in form.
There’s a LOT of room to debate this description, but it gets across the general contemporary view of the group: the street-fighters types of Romantic republicanism, or of Republican romanticism; whichever side of it you like to emphasize. The stereotype of their character was...well, Bahorel,pretty much to the letter. Hugo knew what he was writing, down to the Rash Waistcoats. Bahorel dresses Bousingo! which means a very identifiable and politically loaded style But what exactly did that look like?
Let’s get some more 19C quotes in here!
" ...(there was) Pétrus Borel, in “bousingot” costume of insulting originality*: Marat* waistcoat, and a pointed hat with long ribbons, descending in the middle of the back.." (Jehan Valter's account of the opening night of le Roi s'amuse)
He could be spotted from afar by his pointy, wide-brimmed grey hat, his goatee, his long hair, by his enormous red cravat that clashed with the white lapels of his Marat-style waistcoat...- George Sand, Horace
There’s already a lot going on here, but let’s start with:
Rash Waistcoats
...the best fellow possible; he had rash waistcoats, and scarlet opinions... (LM 3.4.1)
So as far as I’ve been able to tell, a Marat waistcoat is a waistcoat with really, REALLY Extra lapels. Based on , of course, Marat, as seen in this image:
(ID: noted French revolutionary Marat wearing an extravagantly loose cravat, and a furry...jacket? with wide, spotted lapels. Very Wide. Almost sticking out further than his arms. He’s gonna put someone’s eye out with those things./end ID)
I *think* those are coat lapels--but the waistcoat named after him seems to be based on that look. Lapels for days!
(note: a “Robespierre” waistcoat, like Grantaire wears, seems to be the same idea- a waistcoat with wide lapels--but not as exaggerated, and with a different cut. Like so :
(ID: a bright red waistcoat with lapels that reach almost to the arm-scye /end ID)
And you can read more about them at this excellent post! )
George Sand’s Bouzingot wears a white Marat waistcoat,but red was a more iconic color. And a very specific red! Let’s fire up the quotes again!
" In order to avoid wearing the infamous red of '93, I had admitted a slight admixture of purple into the dye, for I was very desirous not to be suspected of any political intention. I was not an admirer of Saint-Just and Maximilian Robespierre, as were some of my comrades..." -Theophile Gautier, A History of Romanticism
The “infamous red” to avoid was scarlet, the color Bahorel definitely wears:
Bahorel, who was like a fish in water in a riot...wore a scarlet waistcoat, and indulged in the sort of words which break everything. His waistcoat astounded a passer-by, who cried in bewilderment:--
"Here are the reds!"
The Beards
“It was my beard that saved us! my romantic beard! my pretty little romantic beard!"- Les Miserables, 3.8.12
A beard ,fine,silky,full,scented with benzoin,and cared for as a Sultan's beard might be,... A beard ! A very ordinary matter in France nowadays,but at that time there were but two in the country : Eugène Devéria's and Petrus Borel's . It required absolutely heroic self - possession and contempt of the multitude And mark that when I say beard , I do not mean mutton-chop or fin-shaped whiskers,or a tip or a tuft,but a genuine,full,complete beard,one to make a man shudder . -Theophile Gautier, A History of Romanticism
In the 1820s and 1830s (especially early 1830s) beards were incredibly Out. Men of Proper Society simply Did Not Wear Them, Oh, they had facial hair--but not beards.
I need you all to understand how silly this dividing line got, so I made a Diagram:
(ID: a rough sketch of a face, showing, in order, sideburns, a moustache, a neckbeard, and all three combined; these are in green and labeled “fine”. one face has a small soulpatch-level goatee, labeled “Risky, Satan’s Chin Patch”. The last shows a short but fully connected beard, with facial hair covering the entire jawline, labeled “Anarchy, Riot, Doom” /End ID)
The Full Beard was Iconically Romantic and especially iconically Bouzingo Romantic, as you’ll see when we hit the caricatures. Oh boy, are there gonna be caricatures.
The final part of this is the hat--and here, I think, it’s time to move into contemporary (and near-contemporary) illustrations. First , a fairly Subdued version of two Bouzingo meeting:
(ID: two Bouzingo talking closely, with a Secret Handshake. They are wearing the clothes described in this post. Behind them a policeman gestures angrily. /end ID)
I love this picture (and would love to know the provenance!) ! You can see the Marat waistcoat lapels, the beard on the one on the left, and, of course, the signature Pointy Hat. Imagine those lapels in bright scarlet, those trousers in plaids, black, or white, and the jackets in either bright blue or dark black for maximum waistcoat contrast, and you’ve got a good mental image of how this would have looked at the time.
...You can also see the police officer telling them to move along. “Hostile Police Interaction”is also an iconic part of the Bousingo look, for obvious reasons.
Here are some more fairly realistic, and sympathetic, pictures; these are illustrations of Laraviniere, the “Bouzingo” character in George Sand’s Horace.
Beard, long hair, pointed hat, extravagant but loose cravat, “Robespierre” style lapels sticking out, tight plaid pants, solid cane for whomping people in fights? It’s the whole package baby!
I gotta include this picture too, because “naked , having grabbed a carpet, so you can come out and fight with landlords and cops” is also an Iconic Bouzingo Look. I am extremely not joking. If you’re going to care at all about propriety , you can’t be Bousingo, and at least one group (and that led by Borel, Bahorel’s most direct inspiration) did run a nudist commune for a while!
These images are reasonably realistic,even sympathetic, portrayals. Now let’s get to the caricatures, and how people who didn’t like them saw all this. This is some of my favorite stuff, it’s hilarious:
Image: Caricature (un peu chargée) d’un “bousingot” romantique
This image, leaning heavily on the Romantic associations of the Bouzingo, brings in that Medieval-style dress I mentioned. Apart from the hat and beard, this guy doesn’t have anything particularly Bousingot about his outfit; the dramatic ruff and doublet-esque cut of his coat could go for any Romantic. But I love this picture , look how ticked off he looks!XD
I have no idea if this illo, titled “Old and New”, was supposed to be insulting, but I think it’s really charming! It’s a French Revolution-era revolutionary-- Robespierre-striped coat, knee breeches, wig or powedered hair, little cockades, etc,-- meeting a then-”new” Bouzingo, in striped trousers, a broad-lapeled tricolor waistcoat, a wide-brimmed “sombrero” type hat (also a solid Bouzingo fashion choice) , full beard (but super short hair--the other way that fashion ran,it’s either long or basically a canon-level buzzcut), and 1830s coat. The old Revolutionary carries a neat cane, and appears to be opening a snuffbox; the Bouzingo carries a fightin’ stick, and appears to be smoking a pipe made with a crowned skull holy shit I love it. And they’re getting along just fine! I have no idea if the vibe is supposed to be “The kids are all right! carrying on the banner!” or “ Look,the Youth of Today is trying to bring back that awful Revolution!” but either way the affinity between generations has me charmed. (and again, we see the strong perceived political aspect to Bouzingo fashion!)
Now a couple of definitely unflattering images:
Above, from an article about “newspapers and their readers”: a Bouzingo reads Le Charivari! as @clove-pinks said on the post that introduced me to this image: “Swanky, obnoxious outfit, long hair, reading Le Charivari illustrated magazine—it’s a bousingot Romantic! “
Again we’ve got the hat, the beard, the loud pants, the stick (I am dying at the stick placement omgggg) -- but you can see how the negative take on them frames them as poor (everything here is patched and broken) , dirty, and menacing.
One more, from the same source as “Old and New”: a whole darn group! Again, there’s the outfit geared to be provocatively tricolor, the broad sombrero style hats, a friggin Phrygian cap, a heavy stick , and beards all around. Note though the wide array of colors, especially the guy in a pink hat in the background!:D
So there’s Bouzingo/Bozingo/Bousingo etc fashion for you! Right at the intersection of Aggressively Political and Dramatically Romantic, bright, brash-- but still leaning into (then) modern styles. This look was about knowing the modern dress code enough to send very clear and specific messages; in this case, “Ready, willing, and able to throw down for the republic at any moment”. It could be toned up or down , but it was always LOUD (Bouzingo Means Noise!!) and it was meant to be a legible message to anyone who’d been in Paris for five minutes. Anyone wearing this outfit (a) knows how to do Style, and they’ve chosen to wear this look , and (b) is a fighter, or is about to become one, because oh,you will get punched in this outfit. Or arrested. Or punched and then arrested.
The name Bousingots stuck. When Le Figaro, which kept up a teasing and caustic opposition* under the loyal management of Monsieur Delatouche, changed hands, and little by little changed its stripes, the name Bousingots became an insult; after that there was no mockery too bitter or unjust with which to smear them. But the true Bousingot remained unmoved, and our friend Laraviniere joyously kept his title of President of the Bousingots until he died, without fearing that he deserved either ridicule or contempt.
He was so sought after and adored by his companions that we never saw him walking by himself. In the midst of this ambulant group that was always singing or yelling around him, he rose above them like a robust and proud pine in the heart of the thicket, or like Fénélon's Calypso in the midst of the small nymphs, or, finally, like young Saul among the shephards of Israel (he preferred the latter description).** He could be spotted from afar by his pointy, wide-brimmed grey hat, his goatee, his long hair, by his enormous red cravat that clashed with the white lapels of his Marat-style waistcoat***...Add to all that a cigar as big as a log, jutting out of a half-burnt auburn moustache, a rough voice that broke in the first days of August 1830 while singing the Marseillaise, and the benevolent aplomb of a man who had embraced Lafayette a hundred times but who no longer spoke of him after 1831 except as "my poor friend"****--and there you have him in his full glory, Jean Laraviniere, President of the Bousingots.
*I assume this means “opposition to the ruling regime” but it could also mean “opposition to the Bouzingo” and in either case be true! Delatouche was something of a Romanticist and no fan of the Restoration, but he didn’t like the extreme fringe Romanticists and rabble-rousers that made up the Bouzingo groups. After the paper changed hands, it gradually turned outright royalist and went from being Not A Fan of the group to solidly despising them.
** this is so 100 percent stuff that Romantics would actually say about each other and to each other, I’m cracking up. “YOU’RE LIKE A GIANT SEA GODDESS THING” “Thanks buddy, you’re like a Muse of composition yourself! “
*** This is the very first I’ve ever heard of people wearing Marat-style waistcoats? I shall investigate further!
**** ...I am not sure , but I think this is like “my poor friend” as in “my poor DECEASED friend” and that he’s picking a ridiculously elaborate way to say “HE’S DEAD TO ME”; at any rate it’s certainly a drag on Lafayette , which, FAIR.
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