What is "negrophilia"

The word negrophilia is derived from the French négrophilie that means love of the negro. It was a term that avant-garde artists used amongst themselves to describe their passion for black culture. During 1920-1930s Paris, negrophilia was a craze when to collect African art, to listen to jazz, and to dance the Charleston, the Lindy Hop or the Black Bottom, were signs of being modern and fashionable. Sources of inspiration were inanimate African art objects (l'art nègre) that found their way into Paris as a result of colonial trade with Africa as well as live performances by African-Americans, many of whom were ex-soldiers remaining in European cities after the First World War, who turned to entertainment for a source of income. Perhaps the most popular revue and entertainer during this time was'' La Revue Nègre'' (1925) starring Josephine Baker.

This interest in exotic cultures had already been established within France due to the regular expositions the country held to showcase the objects and people of the French colonies. The fascination with specifically black culture and the "primitivised" existence associated with it flourished in the combined aftermath of the First World War (1914–1918) and the 1931 Colonial Exposition when artists yearned for a simpler, idyllic lifestyle to counter modern life's mechanistic violence. Avant-garde artists recognised for their negrophilia interests include poet Guillaume Apollinaire, artists Tzara, Man Ray, Paul Colin, surrealists George Bataille and Michel Leiris, and political activist Nancy Cunard.