J. (JOSEP) SIMONT I GUILLEN 1875 Barcelona (Spain) - 1968 Caracas (Venezuela) Café-scene in Paris

Details

Around 1900, two young artists from Barcelona arrived in Paris. One was Pablo Picasso, who would go on to revolutionize art. The other was José Simont Guillén, who chose a very different path for his talent. The 1900 World’s Fair was the reason for Picasso’s move to Paris. For Simont—who had already arrived in the winter of 1898—it was an opportunity to present his drawing talent to the major publishers of illustrated magazines. He succeeded: after a difficult start, he received commissions from the leading illustrated news magazine Le Monde Illustré. The following year, his work caught the attention of the widely read L'Illustration, which offered him an exclusive contract worth 15,000 francs per year. A staggering sum, especially considering that the magazine sold for just 75 centimes.

At that time, when photography was still in its infancy, most magazines preferred drawn or painted illustrations. These were of much higher quality than the still-primitive photographs. In some ways, illustrators had an easier task than press photographers, especially in those early days. They didn’t have to wait for the perfect moment or hope to capture it just in time. An illustrator could shape reality to their advantage. His version of reality often looked more convincing than that of a photographer.

Simont was not only very well paid; he was also deployed much like a modern-day photojournalist. Politics, sports, natural disasters, war, theatre, and glamorous events—anything that interested readers became his subject. In 1902, for instance, he was sent with a reporter to the island of Martinique to document the aftermath of a major volcanic eruption. During World War I, he depicted the horrors of the battlefield, but also more sentimental scenes of returning heroes.

Our painting dates from before World War I, when Simont mostly focused on more glamorous subjects. Here, we see a carefully composed and thought-out scene, painted in a hyperrealistic style. At its center is the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt—the greatest French theatre legend in history—an absolute sensation for anyone who might suddenly see her walk into a café.

Sarah Bernhardt (1844–1923) was not only a celebrity in Paris, where she owned her own theatre, but across the globe. She performed worldwide and can rightfully be called the first international superstar. She also became the first film star: the silent film La Reine Elizabeth was a worldwide success. The British writer Oscar Wilde, who had seen her perform in London, dubbed her “The Divine Sarah,” a name that stuck.

Simont shows how the entire café turns its attention as this celebrity enters. She dominates the right half of the painting. On the left, we can look further into the back of the room, where a singer, accompanied by a small orchestra, is performing. Only members of Bernhardt’s party still pay him any attention.

Most images of Sarah Bernhardt from that era show her as an actress, playing a specific role on stage. Simont, however, portrays her as a celebrity—much like a later paparazzi photographer would, trying to capture famous people in their private lives. For several reasons, this painting can be seen as ahead of its time: as an early depiction of a superstar, and as a precursor to paparazzi-style imagery.