From anarchism to state funding : Louis Lumet and the cultural paradoxes of the third republic

Abstract

In 1896 Louis Lumet despised the state and openly yearned for a red Messiah to sweep away bourgeois culture and politics. By 1904 he was in the receipt of state fundin g. This article unravels the paradox of his trajectory by f ocusing on the common interest that eventually united his i nterests with those of republican governments: the relation ship between art and the people. Drawing on hitherto unknow n writings by Lumet himself, as well as on little-used arch ives, the article explores Lumet’s anarchist persona and co nnections in fin-de-siècle Paris, charts his involvement in the Théâtre d’Art Social and the Théâtre Civique, and exam ines his role in the state-supported Art pour Tous. The fin al discussion reveals areas of conflict and convergence in the perception of the people as political actors by both an archists and the state, raising questions about the theory and practice of cultural democratization