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The work depicts an anonymous woman drinking absinthe at Le Mirliton, a cabaret in the Parisian neighborhood of Grenelle.
All of our articles say the cabaret was in Montmartre, and that Bruant opened it in the space of the old Le Chat Noir. As far as I can tell, Bruant wrote poems and songs about Grenelle, and was in the habit of giving creative titles to Lautrec's paintings based on his own lyrics (see The Hangover (Suzanne Valadon) where I provide sources for this claim). They were not intended to be taken literally, but rather to reflect the tone and theme of Bruant's music. I believe in many ways, Bruant may have been the first to invent the idea of thematic album covers before either the album or the cover had been invented. For someone who was raised in poverty and was uneducated, Bruant appeared to revolutionize the art and music world without anyone noticing. In many ways, this is the sign of the true artist, the one who leaves no footprints and who nobody ever notices was there. In a way, it is like playing god, because the god of religion is invisible and yet is said to be everywhere. Viriditas (talk) 22:52, 19 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
As far as I can tell from the sources, Le Mirliton was located at 84 Boulevard Rochechouart. Montmartre is "bordered by Rue Caulaincourt and Rue Custine on the north, the Rue de Clignancourt on the east and the Boulevard de Clichy and Boulevard de Rochechouart to the south." Viriditas (talk) 22:38, 19 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
And if it is true that Bruant named the painting after his poem/song, then the meaning becomes even more clear. The song is a cautionary tale about the dangers of living a life as a prostitute in Grenelle. Viriditas (talk) 23:33, 19 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
