5. Paris Performance Alive and Dead

Chapter 5, Paris Performance Alive and Dead, explores Beardsley's reception in periodicals and the press in France with new first-hand evidence. It highlights the reproduction and diffusion of Beardsley's images beyond textual comments favoured by previous studies, and shows their flexibility and sway. Recalling Beardsley’s multiple connections to France, it follows his performance though the Montmartre journal Le Courrier français, his deliberate choice of images that had shocked the English public, his adaptability, and influence on French artists. It highlights the paradox in the relations between Le Courrier français and the Savoy instead of the expected Parisian aesthete reviews. It shows how tribute to the deceased artist mingles with chauvinistic anecdotes borrowed from the English press and how, adding to his gallery, the French reviews stage-manage dramatized images of Beardsley against his wish.