Marcelle Lender Dancing the Bolero in "Chilpéric"

Marcelle Lender was a French singer, dancer and entertainer made famous in paintings by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. She began dancing at the age of sixteen and within a few years made a name for herself performing at the Théâtre des Variétés in Montmartre. Marcelle Lender appears in several works by Lautrec but the most notable is this one of her dancing the Bolero during her February 1895 performance in the Hervé operetta Chilpéric. Lautrec's portrait of her in full costume, her flame-red hair accentuated by two red poppies worn like plumes, boosted Lender's popularity considerably after it appeared in a Paris magazine. Toulouse-Lautrec was infatuated with her. When she starred in this operetta, he went to see her performance twenty times. Asked what was so special about her, he replied, "I come strictly in order to see Lender's back. Look carefully; you will seldom see anything as wonderful. Lender's back is sumptuous." Notice that what we get to see is her ample cleavage. The man in the red outfit on the right is the one ogling her backside. King Chilperic (on the left) seems to be enjoying the show too. As for Marcelle Lender, she thought Toulouse-Lautrec a horrible man, and hated the painting. Have fun tonight!