Francisque Poulbot

Francisque Poulbt, 1877-1946, was a Cornet member from 1905. He was a painter, illustrator and sculptor who illustrated 31 Cornet Society menus between 1905 and 1939, and painted a Pierrot postcard (1908) for Wague as well. He was also an honorary member of the Cornet Bibliophiles, a member of the Society of Designers and Humorists and vice president of the Republic of Montmartre. Some of Poulbot’s work positioned him under the umbrella of the “Patriotic School,” particularly his paintings depicting scenes of the effects of the Great War on the street children of Montmartre. His studies of impoverished children in fact were to become a major and recurring theme in his artistic life. Most of his Cornet Society menus are filled with street urchins. Poulbot supported Le Clos de Montmartre, a charity that raised money for les Petits Poulbot, street urchins affectionately nicknamed after him. Poulbot was a dear friend and neighbor in Montmartre of Maurice Utrillo’s mother, Suzanne Valadon. In 1925 he joined her as a member of the Anti-skyscraper Party in a struggle to preserve the old buildings of Montmartre by opposing the modernist architectural movement that was pushing for the construction of skyscrapers.