COLIN, Paul.

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Le Tumulte noir. First edition of a defining document of the French Jazz Age, "celebrating the exotic and erotic energy of African American entertainer Josephine Baker, the sensation of La Revue nègre" (Martel, p. 60).La Revue nègre was among the first shows with an all-black cast to tour Europe. In 1925, Baker made her debut on stage at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. Her reception was rapturous and African American dance and jazz exploded onto the Parisian scene. This fed into a broader fascination with Africa - essentialized into exoticism, eroticism, and primitivism - which had a profound influence on French art and culture, including the works of Matisse and Picasso.Paul Colin, the show's French publicist and poster designer, had a brief romantic liaison with Baker and remained a lifelong friend, later illustrating her memoirs. His works are masterpieces of Art Deco graphic design. The images in Le Tumulte noir emphasize sensuality, movement, and exuberant performance, while also drawing on racial stereotypes. They include a depiction of Baker in her famous banana skirt."Le Tumulte noir is a visual recapitulation of and homage to the Jazz Age at its peak. Its generous pages, as large as broadsides, immortalize the fortuitous encounter of two rising young talents - Baker and Colin - and their ensuing collaboration. She loved to dance; he loved to draw her dancing. Both were very good at what they did" (Dalton & Gates, p. 904). The title - "le tumulte noir" - is n

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