Bidspirit auction | [GAUGUIN PAUL]: (1848-1903) & [VERLAINE

[GAUGUIN PAUL]: (1848-1903) & [VERLAINE PAUL] - [GAUGUIN PAUL]: (1848-1903) French Post-Impressionist painter & [VERLAINE PAUL]: (1844-1896) French poet. An unusual, rare original printed programme and subscription form for a Représentation symbolique d'œuvres inédites organised by Paul Fort's Théâtre d'Art for the benefit of Paul Gauguin and Paul Verlaine, two pages (bifolium stationery), 8vo, Paris, 1891, issued as a supplement to La Plume , no. 48. The benefit, advertised to take place at the Théâtre du Vaudeville on 27th May 1891, was presented under the patronage of Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Verlaine, Jean Moréas, Charles Morice and Henri de Régnier, with subscriptions administered through L'Écho de Paris . The programme presents a remarkable assembly of Symbolist literature and drama, comprising Les Uns et les Autres , a one-act verse play by Verlaine with music by Pierre Quittard; Edgar Allan Poe's Le Corbeau ( The Raven ), in the celebrated French translation by Stéphane Mallarmé; L'Intruse ( The Intruder ), a one-act play by Maurice Maeterlinck; Chérubin , three acts by Charles Morice with music by Quittard; Le Soleil de Minuit , a one-act verse work by Catulle Mendès; and a Poème dialogué by Théodore de Banville. The performers announced include Paul Mounet and Dehelly of the Comédie-Française, together with actors from the Odéon, Théâtre des Nouveautés and Théâtre d'Art. The accompanying subscription form states that the performance was ´au bénéfice du poète Paul VERLAINE et du peintre Paul GAUGUIN´ and provides ticket prices ranging from five to twenty francs. One neat split to the upper central fold in the bifolium, otherwise VG An evocative document of the Parisian Symbolist avant-garde and of an extraordinary benefit organised for two artists who, despite their growing reputations, were experiencing considerable financial difficulties. Founded by the young poet Paul Fort in 1890, the Théâtre d'Art sought to establish an explicitly Symbolist alternative to the prevailing Naturalist theatre, bringing poetry, drama, music and the visual arts together upon the stage. The benefit for Verlaine and Gauguin became one of its notable early productions. The programme is particularly remarkable for the constellation of figures represented: Verlaine appeared as both beneficiary and playwright, while Mallarmé was a patron of the event and his celebrated translation of Poe's The Raven formed part of the programme. The performance also included Maeterlinck's L'Intruse, one of the defining works of early Symbolist drama and an important early Paris presentation of the Belgian playwright. The Musée d'Orsay has subsequently highlighted the production in its history of the development of modern Symbolist theatre. The benefit ultimately proved less successful financially than artistically. Contemporary accounts record that the considerable expenses of the elaborate production absorbed the proceeds, leaving little or nothing for Verlaine and Gauguin. Nevertheless, the occasion represented a striking act of solidarity between the literary and artistic avant-garde and brought together many of the leading personalities of Symbolism at a formative moment in the movement's development. The present programme advertises the performance for 27th May 1891, although contemporary and bibliographical sources indicate that the benefit was ultimately presented at the Théâtre du Vaudeville earlier in the month, on or around 21st May. Gauguin himself had already departed France for Tahiti on 4th April 1891 and was therefore absent from the benefit organised in his name.