Esclopière Street

In the long dynasty of painters and architects in the Alaux family, Guillaume was one of those who came several times to Clairac, to stay with his Delpech friends. He often drew inspiration from there, as shown in the catalogue of the Société nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1905, where he exhibited, among others, Vieille rue à Clairac, Rue de la Puzoque and Rue de l'Esclopière… It is this last painting that we have here before our eyes.

We will not go back over the history of this picturesque Clairacaise street to which another section of the virtual museum is dedicated. However, one of the Friends of Clairac more observant than others, Florence, made this remark: “Have you noticed that these two Clairacaises are topped with quichenottes?”… After investigation, it turns out that these headdresses are from Vendée and that they are a distortion of the English expression “Kiss me not”; Indeed, who would dare to drop a quick kiss on such a well-protected cheek, even if our two models are obviously of an age that should protect them from a stolen kiss? Joking aside, Guillaume Alaux from Bordeaux often painted the Atlantic coast and he probably found that the white touch of these quichenottes would animate his composition better than Clairac's traditional headdress, which would have allowed only two small spots.
This notice will linger on these headdresses which were the pomp of the women of our Gascony regions, from Marmande to Agen, from Clairac to Villeneuve. A postcard, edited by Martin, honours a Clairacaise and her “coiffure du pays”. She is strangely sitting on a tree branch, her umbrella at her feet; her three-quarter back position highlights the fine lace that stands out on her brown hair. It was a handkerchief, the size and quality of the lace of which revealed the social position of the cute girl, turned around the bun, while letting a large piece float in the wind, like a “Follow me young man”. Competitions were even organized, attracting dozens of candidates competing in ingenuity, where strict juries made up of a few local councillors wearing canotiers and impassive benefactors with feathered hats decided who knew how to tie their handkerchief in the most beautiful way, while keeping the necessary modesty.

Over the old postcards, poems and sayings highlight the coquetry of our ancestors:
« La Gasconne est fort bien sous son foulard de faille
  Elle est vraiment superbe avec sa fière taille. »
« L’Ageneso, damb soun beroi mouchouer de cat… »
« Beroi foulard gascoun, oun n’ès, tu, dounc passat… »

As they got older, our Clairacaises made their bleached hair disappear under an austere square of black cloth, leaving only their hieratic face visible. The postcard of a sorter of chasselas will remind some of these women who, sitting in front of their house in the evening, cleaned the bunches of grapes; they were still seen in the 1940s in and around rue des Couteliers.

Guillaume Alaux (1856-1912) belongs to a very long dynasty of architects and painters, still active today. He was the son of Gustave Alaux (1816-1882) architect, grandson of Jean-Paul Alaux (1786-1864), painter and former director of the École des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, great-grandson of the painter Pierre-Joseph Alaux (born 1756). A tradition maintained in the following generations: deceased on April 14, 2020 at the age of 94, Jean-Pierre Alaux was an official naval painter since 1975.

Translation of the Gascon poems above.