Kohl (cosmetics)
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| - | '''Musidora''' ([[February 23]], [[1889]] - [[December 11]], [[1957]]) was the professional stage-name of a popular [[French people|French]] [[silent film]] [[actress]] of the [[early 20th century]]. She is most remembered for her [[vamp (woman)|vamp]] persona in the roles of [[Irma Vep]] and [[Diana Monti]] in the early motion picture crime serials ''[[Les Vampires]]'' ([[1915]]) and ''[[Judex]]'' ([[1916]]), respectively. She was also an [[author]], [[screenwriter]] and [[film director]]. | + | '''Kohl''' is a mixture of [[soot]] and other ingredients used predominantly by [[Middle East]]ern, [[Africa]]n and [[South Asia]]n women, and to a lesser extent men, to darken the eyelids and as [[mascara]] for the eyelashes. Kohl {from [[Arabic language|Arabic]] كحل {{ArabDIN|kuḥl}}) is also sometimes spelled '''kol''', '''kehal''' (in the Arab world), or '''kohal''', and is known as '''surma''' or '''kajal''' in South Asia. In many parts of West Africa, it is known as '''kwalli'''. |
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| - | == Biography == | + | |
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| - | Born '''Jeanne Roques''' in [[Paris, France]] and raised by a feminist mother and socialist father, Musidora began her career in the arts at an early age, writing her first novel at the age of fifteen and acting on the stage with the likes of [[Colette]], one of her life-long friends. During the very early years of [[French cinema]] Musidora began a professional collaboration with the highly successful French film director [[Louis Feuillade]]. | + | |
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| - | Adopting the moniker of Musidora ([[Greek language|Greek]] for "gift of the muses") and affecting a unique vamp persona that would later be popularized in the [[United States of America]] by actress [[Theda Bara]], Musidora soon found a foothold in the nascent medium of moving pictures. With her heavily [[Kohl (cosmetics)|kohled]] dark eyes, somewhat sinister make-up, pale skin and exotic wardrobes, Musidora quickly became a highly popular and instantly recognizable presence of European cinema. | + | |
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| - | Beginning in [[1915]], Musidora began appearing in the hugely successful Feuillade-directed serials ''Les Vampires'' as [[Irma Vep]] (an anagram of "vampire"), a cabaret singer, opposite [[Edouard Mathé]] as crusading journalist, Philippe Guerande. Contrary to the title, the ''Les Vampires'' were not actually about vampires, but about a criminal gang cum secret society inspired by the exploits of the real-life [[Bonnot Gang]]. Vep, besides playing a leading role in the Vampires' crimes, also spends two episodes under the hypnotic control of Moreno, a rival criminal who makes her his lover and induces her to assassinate the Grand Vampire. The somewhat surreal series was an immediate success with French cinema-goers and ran in ten installments until [[1916]]. After the ''Les Vampires'' serial, Musidora starred as 'Diana Monti' in another popular Feuillade serial, ''[[Judex]]'', filmed in [[1916]] but delayed for release until [[1917]] because of the outbreak of [[World War I]]. Though not intended to be "[[avant-garde]]," ''Les Vampires'' and ''Judex'' have been lauded by critics as the birth of avant-garde cinema and cited by such renowned filmmakers as [[Fritz Lang]] and [[Luis Buñuel]] as being extremely influential in their desire to become directors. | + | |
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| - | As well as acting, Musidora became a film producer and director under the tutelage of her mentor, Louis Feuillade. Between the late [[1910s]] and early [[1920s]], she directed ten films, all of which are lost with the exception of two: [[1922]]'s ''Soleil et Ombre'' and [[1924]]'s ''La Terre des Taureaux'', both of which were filmed in Spain. In Italy, she produced and directed ''La Flamme Cachee'' based on the work of her friend, [[Colette]]. At a time when many women in the film industry were relegated to acting, Musidora achieved a degree of success as a producer and director. | + | |
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| - | Musidora married Dr. Clement Marot on [[April 20]], [[1927]]. The union lasted fifteen years and produced one child, Clement Marot Jr. The couple divorced in [[1944]]. After her career as an actress faded, she focused on writing and producing. Her last film was an ''homage'' to her mentor Feuillade entitled ''La Magique Image'' in [[1950]], which she both directed and starred in. Late in her life she would occasionally work in the ticket booth of the Cinematheque Francais—few patrons realized that the old woman in the foyer might be starring in the film they were watching. Musidora died in Paris, France in 1957 and was laid to rest in the [[Cimetiere de Montmartre]]. | + | |
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Kohl is a mixture of soot and other ingredients used predominantly by Middle Eastern, African and South Asian women, and to a lesser extent men, to darken the eyelids and as mascara for the eyelashes. Kohl {from Arabic كحل Template:ArabDIN) is also sometimes spelled kol, kehal (in the Arab world), or kohal, and is known as surma or kajal in South Asia. In many parts of West Africa, it is known as kwalli.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Kohl (cosmetics)" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
