Alyssa's Art Blog

While enjoying the establishment of his architectural work, Bernard Bijovet also rubbed shoulders with many famous figures at the time such as Le Corbusier, Maurice Ravel and Josephine Baker.

“A violinist had a violin, a painter his palette. All I had was myself. I was the instrument that I must care for.” – Josephine Baker. “

Josephine Baker is widely known for her “banana dance” but more so of her iconic looks as a jazz-age beauty. Baker famously wore her slick-down hair, smokey eyes and dark lips, but one more trait set her apart, she was a woman of colour. Born on June 3rd 1906 in Missouri, Baker eventually became a French citizen in 1937. Though she started off with a rough childhood, at the age of 15 she headed to New York City to perform as a chorus line dancer. She would later become the highest-paid chorus girl in vaudeville.

Baker continued her rise to fame in Paris. Scandalous and erotic, Josephine Baker became an instant success with her performance called La Folie du Jour. The show consisted of Baker dancing in a skirt made of 16 bananas. The show made Baker a crowd favourite and a common house-hold name. She also gained the admiration from famous cultural figures such as Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Christian Dior. Baker also recieved more than 1 000 marriage proposals.

When World War II broke out, Baker was recruited to work for the Deuxieme Bureau. With her charm, Baker specialized in gathering information about German troops from officials she would rub shoulders with at parties. Thanks to her celebrity status, Baker was able to transmit information to and from Europe through the medium of invisible ink on her music sheets. She also provided housing for her friends who were part of the Free French effort led by Charles de Gaulle and supplied them with visas. Later in 1941, even while she was recovering from her miscarriage, she continued to tour North Africa to entertain the French, British and AMerican troops that were there. When the war ended, Baker was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Rosette de a Resistance and was made a Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur by Charles de Gaulle.

After all her experience with racism, Josephine began adopting children of all ethinicties and created her family also known as the “Rainbow Tribe”. She wanted to prove that it was possible for people of all colours to live happily under one roof and to end the division of racismIn 1973, she returned to New York to perform a final show at the Carnegie Hall despite her previous poorly received and heartbreaking performance. To her surprise, the show was met with a standing ovation and public adoration. In 1975, just days before her death, Josephine perform a glittering performance at the Bobino theatre in Paris which was filled with a star studded audience including Mick Jagger, Sophia Loren, Diana Ross and Liza Minnelli.