La Goulue Arriving at the Moulin Rouge with Two Women

La Goulue, actually called Louise Weber (1870-1929), was the most successful can-can dancer of her time. She appeared at the Moulin de la Galette, the Alcazar, the Elysée-Montmartre, the Jardin de Paris, and later especially at the Moulin Rouge, frequently with Valentin the Contortionist, her partner in the quadrille. She was given her nickname as a result of her uncontrolled appetite (goulue = greedy). She worked in a brothel, and died lonely and impoverished.