Baucher

Baucher, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. François Baucher (#3 of 5 in series) Before Fillis, the great exponent of 19th-century haute école was François Baucher (1796-1873) and Fillis, himself, stated "I claim to be a follower of Baucher [and] bow with gratitude before this master of the equestrian art" though Fillis devoted a full chapter in his book to criticizing some of Baucher's opinions. Baucher ran a number of riding schools in France before exhibiting his horses from 1838-48 at the Cirque des Champs-Elysées. With the political crisis and Revolution of 1848, Baucher departed Paris and joined Soullier in Vienna and together they then toured a circus through Italy. Baucher eventually returned to the Parisian circus but in 1855 the chandelier in the roof of the circus fell and fractured his right leg. After this, he no longer appeared in public but continued to oversee the training of riders in the circus for most of the rest of his life. Records exist for most of the 26 horses Baucher trained and of how long it took to train each. Some required a year but most needed only a few months and often less (27 days for one said to be untrainable!). The music that accompanied Baucher's performance on Partisan, one of his more famous horses (and shown in this illustration from one of my copies of his book), also survives. His "Méthode d'Equitation" was published in 1842 and reprinted annually for a number of years thereafter due to its popularity. Baucher's methods were criticized for their harsh manner but, after his accident, he changed his methods slightly and that is reflected in the 12th edition published in 1864. I have a copy of the first English language edition which was published in Philadelphia in 1851 as "A Method of Horsemanship, founded upon new Principles" and in the translator's lengthy preface, he refers to the exceptional skills of a number of American riders, all of whom were circus performers. Specifically, he refers to Richard Sands' and his horse "May-Fly" with Welch's circus as well as Caroline Loyo and [Richard] Derious. I have seen a copy of this book with the owners' inscription by Edwin Derious, partner in a circus operated with Rivers in the 1850s (and attended by an ancestor of mine!). While I've not ridden in years and never knew much anyway, I once learned there is a snaffle bit known variously as the Baucher, Fillis, hanging cheek, or drop cheek. Cirque des Champs-Elysées, exterior & interior (#4-5 of 5 in series) The circus building where both Fillis and Baucher performed for so long (and where Baucher met with his accident by the falling chandelier) existed from 1841-1899. It began as a tent circus on the Champs-Elysées in 1836 but its owner, Louis Dejean, had a stone edifice constructed in 1841 designed by the noted architect Jacques-Ignace Hittorf. It was known as the Cirque National des Champs-Elysées until the revolution of 1848 when it became the Cirque National de Paris during the Second Republic (1848-52). With the ascent of Napoleon III and the advent of the Second Empire (1852-70), it was known as the Cirque de l'Imperatrice but the arrival of the Third Republic in 1870 resulted in its final name change to Cirque d'Ete (translated as Summer Circus). It was demolished in 1899 to make space for the Paris Exposition of 1900. The second major circus building in Paris at the time is the surviving Cirque d'Hiver (translated as Winter Circus), also designed by Hittorf and built in 1852. It was known as the Cirque Napoleon until the end of the Second Empire of Napoleon III when it gained its present name in 1871. Another significant Parisian building of the time was the Cirque Fernando (1873-1897), famous because it was frequented by the artists Degas, Renoir, and Toulouse-Lautrec. Dick Flint Baltimore