Episode 68 - The Ladies of Monet

This week's new episode of Paris History Avec a Hemingway is all about the ladies of Claude Monet. He of course captured them on his epic canvases but it is a much more dramatic story than that. 

Camille Doncleux arrived in Paris from Lyon and quickly became the sought after model of the Impressionists. She met Claude Monet in 1865 at 18 years old and it quickly led to a relationship between the two. In 1866 he painted her in The Woman in a Green Dress and exhibited it at the Salon of 1866, but with the simple title of just Camille. It was met with rave reviews winning a silver medal and bought for 800 francs by Arsène Houssaye. By the next year they were living together and pregnant with their first son Jean which caused quite a stir among the Paris gossips.

So enamored with Camille, Claude would use her for the model of every woman in Les Femmes au Jardin et Le Déjeuner. Look closely at each of the women, they are all Camille. She would also sit for Renoir and Manet, Manet even painted the couple and family a few times. I love the painting Manet did of Claude and Camille sitting in his floating studio while she looks on as he works.  In 1870 the two would finally marry and in 1878 they would have their second son Michel. Michel’s birth was difficult and would in a few years take its toll. Cancer of the uterus had spread to her digestive system and urinary tract and she was barely able to walk around Monet’s beloved pond. 

In 1876, Claude Monet met Ernest Hoschedé and his wife Alice. Hoschedé came from a wealthy family that was happy to spend money on art and anything else he thought would keep him in the elite standing of Paris. Ernest invited different artists to his lavish home to add to the decor and when the always cash strapped Monet heard this he offered his services. Leaving Camille in their small apartment he moved into the Hoschedé’s where he painted canvases as well as the walls of their dining room. While Ernest was back in Paris, Claude and Alice struck up a flirtation as well as an affair.

Ernest’s spending got out of control and his family refused to pay his bills. Creditors and the bank came after his home and everything in it. Alice, now pregnant with her fifth child that may have been Claude’s left, moved into the small home with Claude, Camille and their two sons. Thirteen people in a two bedroom home was tight, not to mention having your wife and mistress within the same walls. 

As Camille got sicker each day, Alice Hoschedé helped take care of her, but in the summer of 1879 she deteriorated quickly. Camille Monet, the beloved wife of Claude Monet and inspiration for his many paintings died on September 5, 1879.

As Monet watched his beloved wife slip away he said “I caught myself watching her tragic temples almost mechanically searching for the sequence of changing shades which death was imposing upon her rigid face. Blue, yellow, grey. My reflexes compelled me to unconsciously act in spite of myself”, he picked up a canvas and painted her.  Today the painting is the Musee d’Orsay and stayed with Monet his entire life. 

As Camille was lowered into the ground, Alice cried out “destroy everything”. Every photo, letter and reminder of Camille was burned and destroyed. Aiice was no longer going to take second place as she watched Claude battle with his extreme grief. Her own husband Ernest died on March 18, 1891 and on July 16, 1892 Claude and Alice married.

Her daughter Blanche married Jean Monet in 1897 and after 35 years together in 1911, Alice died in Giverny. Blanche would stay and care for her step/father in law until he died on December 5. 1926. 

Alice was also captured in his art, but it’s the haunting and beautiful painting of Camille on her deathbed that will stay with you forever and luckily Alice didn’t have it destroyed.

Episode 67 - Chateau de Versailles

The Chateau Versailles, just the name evokes glamour, golden splendor and the regal days of France. We cover it all today on the newest episode of Paris History Avec a Hemingway.

Versailles began in 1604 when Louis XIII would come out to the woods to hunt and decided to build a hunting lodge. In 1623 a small lodge next to a windmill that sat on top of a low hill was the humble beginning that is hard to imagine today. Louis XIII would gather his hunting friends and head out to the lodge. His wife Anne d’Autriche had her own suite of rooms but she wasn’t allowed to stay the night. There is a lot more to the “boys weekend” at the Louis XIII Versailles and I’ll let you fill in the blanks.

His son Louis XIV first visited as a child and after his father died on May 14, 1643 Versailles was far from his mind. On the night of August 17, 1661 his superintendent of finance, Nicolas Fouquet held a lavish party at his finished chateau, Vaux-le-Vicomte. Inviting the boss over and his 6,000 friends entertained by Moliere and Fontaine and overcome by the beauty of the property and the chateau. A few days later, the Sun King had Fouquet arrested and then stole his artists. Architect Louis Le Vau, garden designer Andre Le Nôtre and designer and artists Charles Le Brun. In June of 1662, they would begin the construction on Versailles.
For the rest of his life he would continue to add on to Versailles to create one of the most splendid chateaux in Europe. Upon his death on September 1, 1715 it was still incomplete and Louis XV wasn’t as in love with living outside of Paris as his great-grandfather was. He moved the government back to Paris and Vincennes and left Versailles falling into disrepair until his return.

The days of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI are well known for frolicking in the meadow of the Hamlet and their last day of golden carefree luxury.

Today the Chateau de Versailles is one of the most popular attractions in France that was largely saved by John D Rockefeller who gave a vast fortune in thanks to France for standing by the USA through the American Revolution. Open Tuesday - Sunday it can be reached in 30 minutes from Paris and allow an entire day to wander through the gardens and chateau. On the weekends in the summer make sure you visit to enjoy the musician fountain show and maybe even rent a row boat along the canal.

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Episode 66 - Madame Elisabeth de France

In our final episode about the ladies of Marie Antoinette there wasn’t anyone closer in those final months than her sister in law Madame Elisabeth. 

The youngest child of Louis and Marie-Joseph, her older brothers would become king over the next 70 years. Born on May 3, 1764 a year later her father died and she spent most of her time in the shadow of the older brothers living a carefree life at court.  When she came of age, Louis XVI wanted to marry her off but she begged him not to so she can remain with her family. Which is exactly what she did until the end of her life. 

Pledging a life to God she was off the marriage market and at 19 her brother purchased a chateau in Montreuil as her own private estate. She wasn’t allowed to spend the night there until she was 25 so she visited each day riding a horse back and forth each night. The day she came of age on May 3, 1789 she stayed what would be only a few months at her beloved chateau.

On the night of October 5, 1789 she and the family were forced to leave it all behind for Paris. Ever the loyal sister she went with them all the way to the Temple prison in 1793. In a small cell once the family was pulled apart Elisabeth remained with Marie hidden away from the world.

As her brother was taken to the guillotine on January 21, 1793 her sister in law followed as she was pulled away and taken to the Conciergerie. At first the Convention was going to exile Elisabeth but after the “trial” of Marie Antoinette and the false accusations against her the “sister of the tyrant” was going to end with the same fate. 

In the final hours of her life, Marie Antoinette wrote a letter to Madame Elisabeth that would never reach her, intercepted by Robspierre. Today you can see that letter engraved in marble in the former cell of the queen at the Conciergerie.

Months later and unaware that MA had been killed she had her own date with the guillotine. Just prior to being carted through the city she learned that MA had also been killed. On May 10, 1794 she sat next to the blade and had to watch all 24 people die before it was her turn. Each person walked by kissing her hand before they died. She spent every day of her life giving others comfort. 

Listen to her full story today on Paris History Avec a Hemingway, link in bio

Episode 65 - Madame Campan

Madame Campan was one of the only women to work for Marie Antoinette, survive the Revolution, work for Napoleon and end with another Bourbon king when most didn’t survive past Marie Antoinette. Jeanne-Louise Henriette Campa was born October 2, 1752 in Paris. Her father was a foreign affairs clerk sent to London to work on the 1763 peace treaty and took a large role in her education. Teaching her italian and english she also became well versed in the piano, guitar and harp.

At 16 years old she became the reader to the daughters of Louis XV and two years later the lady in waiting to the young and shy Marie Antoinette. The two became very close as they were so near in age. The day after Louis XV died and Marie was named queen Jeanne-Louise married Pierre Francois Berthollet. The marriage resulted in a son, Henri but that was about it. The two separated but never divorced and she spent all her time at Versailles. 

On October 6, 1789 as the royal family left Versailles behind, Campan was by their side and remained until June 20, 1791 when they tried to escape. After leaving court she created a boarding school in Saint Germain en Laye for the daughters of the French elite. Attendees included the sisters and nieces of Napoleon and the daughter of Josephine. Napoleon was very impressed by Madame Campan and in his wish to bring back to etiquette of the court of Versailles he tapped Campan as his Madame Etiquette. 

Josephine did not enjoy her input that forced her to sit and watch Napoleon eat and how she must carry herself at events. After Bonaparte was ousted and Louis XVIII arrived Campan was asked again to court. Madame Royale, the daughter and only surviving member of the family of Marie Antoinette who remembered her as a child asked how she was able to survive and lived so well during the Napoleon years. It ended her run at the palace once and for all. 

Madame Campan had surgery while suffering from cancer in February 1822 and died a month later at 69 years old on March 16, 1822.  Few people survived to tell the tale of three reigns of French power and do it so elegantly. 

Listen to the full story today on La Vie Creative - Paris History Avec a Hemingway

Episode 64 - Gabrielle de Polignac

In this week's episode of Paris History Avec a Hemingway we continue on with another lady of Marie Antoinette. Gabrielle de Polignac was a constant source of gossip from Versaille to Paris. The fun loving Polignac was born September 8, 1749 in Paris into the French noble family of the Nouilles. Married in 1767 to Jules de Polignac, captain of the Royal regiment and a member of the court at Versailles. 

Through her sister-in-law and lady of honor to Madame Elisabeth she was invited frequently to court. Gabrielle was very beautiful and was easily noticed and even caught the eye of Marie Antoinette. The queen walked up to her and asked who she was and why she hadn’t seen her before to which Polignac replied, “we don’t have the money to live the court life”. Marie liked her honesty and invited her back the next day. 

Polignac was free spirited and loved the trappings of life at Versailles at a time when the queen was tired of the formality. Gabrielle encouraged her to spend more time at the Petit Trianon enjoying the casual lazy days. A welcome change from the etiquette and watchful eyes but that came with a lot of problems. 

Rumors began to spread about Polignac and the queen. Marie Antoinette was already hated by the people and Polignac became public enemy number one. They thought her influence over the queen and her excess was a direct drain on the treasury of France.There was also the rumor that they were lovers which just rallied them all up even more. 

When the Bastille was attacked, Polignac and her husband were forced to flee with just the clothes on their back,  bread and wine; they arrived in Switzerland in three days. She stayed in touch with the queen once she was arrested and held in the Temple prison. 

On January 21, 1793 the king was killed and when the news finally reached her she could barely handle it. Falling ill to tuberculosis, her son tried to keep the news of the queen's death a secret. They were able to shield her until the end of November, a week later on December 5, 1793, the queen of the parties, Gabrielle Polignac died in Switzerland. 

Listen to her full story  today on La Vie Creative Paris History Avec a Hemingway. Link in bio

Episode 63 - Madame de Lamballe

One of the most faithful and trusted ladies of Marie Antoinette served by her side until the bitter end. Madame de Lamballe was born in Turin and raised under the iron thumb of her father Prince Louis Victor of Savoy. The duke of Penthievre was keen to marry his son Louis-Alexandre, Prince of Lamballe and descendant of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan.

Their short & rough marriage lasted from January 1767 to May 1768 when he died as a result of his free loving ways. After her husband's death and close with her father in law who would take her to Versailles when a chance meeting drew the young Austrian to her. The two become quick friends in the intimidating world of Versailles. As soon as Marie became queen she named Lamballe as the superintendent of the house, the highest position in the queens domain and even more she was the trusted friend and advisor. 

Lambale took her job very seriously and as the stress and formality of court pushed in Marie wanted more of the relaxed life of the Petit Trianon. Lamballe was pushed aside for a bit but on October 5, 1789 when the angry group of women called for the queen's head Lamballe was by her side. Three years later she was still there as the Swiss guards were killed at the Palais des Tuileries and the screams filled the halls calling for their death. 

A few days later on August 19 she was pulled from the arms of the queen and taken to La Petit Force prison where on September 3. 1792 after a “trial” where she refused to denounce the king and queen she was quickly taken to the courtyard where a crowd of angry people awaited her. What happened next was horrific. The rage of the people were taken out on her for hours and her body and head were dragged to the window of the Temple prison where they screamed for Marie Antoinette to look out and see her trusted friend one last time, 

Her loyal friend until her final breath never wavered her love and support at a time when very few still stood by the disgraced queen. 

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Episode 62 - Rose Bertin

Marie Antoinette is known for her style, love of fashion and jewelry and in the end what led to her demise. One woman is behind her look more than anyone else including those amazing hair styles. Rose Bertin had a knack for style that drew the attention of a very devoted following that went back to her early days. 

Born July 2, 1747 in Abbeville, she moved to Paris and started working at the Trait Galant boutique at just 16 years old. Owner Mademoiselle Pagalle dressed the ladies in the court of Louis XV, and the young assistant was much in demand. It was more about the adornings on the dress then the dress itself. Lace, feathers, jewels and ribbons creating a one of a kind dress that allowed the ladies to stand out at court. 

On May 11, 1774 the day after Louis XV died and Marie Antoinette became queen of France, Rose was introduced to the young queen by her customer, the Duchess of Chartres. In no time at all, Rose was meeting with the queen twice a week to talk about what she wanted and even designing the very tall hair styles. 

Rose refused to follow trends, instead she actually set them. When Marie wanted a casual dress to wear at the Trianon and the Hamlet, Rose designed a loose white muslin dress that Vigee Le Brun captured on the canvas. While it shocked many that the queen was depicted in such a casual way it became the must-have look in Paris. 

Working with the queen until her final moments she created the simple dress she wore to the guillotine and then promptly left France. As the very public image of the queen’s excess, her destiny would end much like her famed client if she hadn’t. Spending those years in Belgium and London before returning to Paris in 1795.

In 1770 she opened La Grand Mogol, eventually moving it to 26 Rue de Richelieu where it remained until she returned to Paris.  In the early 1800’s she finally closed it after her customers weren’t returning to her like they had before. On September 21, 1813 she died in Epinay-sur-Seine at 66 years old. 

Rose was the first celebrity fashion designer, created the first fashion magazine thanks to the urging of the Queen and created the mystique of Marie Antoinette that remains today. 

Episode 61 - Marie Louise Ja Ja

One of the newest sensations in Paris this summer has been the very long awaited reopening of Samaritaine. It started as a tiny store on the corner of Rue du Pont Neuf by a couple that spent their entire life in retail. 

Marie Louise Ja Ja, born on July 1, 1838 came from a large family and was forced to start working at a very early age to help support the family. In 1853 she moved to Paris with her aunt and got a job at La Nouveau Heloise selling lingerie. It was at her next job working at the candy counter of the Bon Marche that she met Ernest Cognaq. 

The two married on January 17, 1872 and opened their own store just off the Pont Neuf. It was located just steps away from the pump house that stood on stilts in the Seine next to the bridge. Built under Henri IV to provide water to the district around the Louvre, the building was topped with a sculpture by Bernard & René Fremin. It depicted Jesus in front of the well of Jacob with a woman known as La Samaritaine. It would stand through the 17th C until Louis XVI had it decommissioned and eventually torn down in 1813. As a young man Ernest set up a small stall under a red umbrella on the bridge selling items. So the name was close to his heart. 

Marie and Ernest’s store became so popular that they quickly expanded, eventually taking over the entire block all the way to Rue de Rivoli. It was the height of the Parisian department store and to stand out they created practices that are still used today. Letting customers try on clothes, credit accounts, allowing returns, catalog and mail orders. Closer to Marie’s heart was the nursery and hospital for employees and a fund to assist them and to cover medical expenses.

Marie died in 1925 and Ernest shortly after in 1928. Their beloved store passed through the hands of family until the 1970’s when the days of the large department store shopping waned. In 2001 LVMH bought it and 20 years later it has reopened beautifully. 

The couple created a vast art collection that you can visit today in Paris at the Musée Cognacq Jay, including one of the largest collections of British art in Paris.  After Ernest's death in 1928, he left their home and collection to the city of Paris. Originally a museum was opened in their home on January 4, 1929 and remained for over 60 years. When the house fell into disrepair and agreements with the heirs of Cognac couldn’t be reached, the city decided to move it to the Hotel Donon in June 1988. 

The Hotel Donon was once owned by Maderic Donon who built it on land that was subdivided from the Saint-Catherine des Ecoliers in 1545. In 1974 the city of Paris purchased the property and on December 18, 1990 it was reopened as the Musée Cognac-Jay at 9 Rue Payenne. The museum is free and features decor by Christina Lacroux and much of the personal items and the collection of Marie & Ernest. It is a small museum that one should see at least once. The collection includes sculptures by Houdon & Clodin and art by Vigee le Brun, François Boucher, Maurice Quentin de la Tour, Watteau and Rembrandt. 

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Episode 60 - The Ladies of Manet

Manet, like most painters, had many models they worked with. Manet found women that not only sat for him but also inspired him. Berthe Morisot was a young art student that had the looks of the dark haired Spanish beauties he was obsessed with. Morisot became an accomplished artist herself and married Manet’s brother, creating a devoted family of artists. 

Victorine Meuret sat for him in his most scandalous and famous paintings. Naked and looking at the viewer pulling them into the world of a courtesan and a picnic by a river. In one of his very last paintings, he depicted the real life waitress at a popular Paris music hall. 

The paintings of these three ladies are linked to Manet’s history and live on for generations hanging on the walls of the museums of Paris. In this week's podcast we explore these beloved images and the women behind them. 

In 1862 Edouard Manet walked into Thomas Couture’s studio and met a young girl. Couture would teach Manet & Henri Fantin-Latour and feature many young models. On this one day, Victorine-Louis Meurent was in Couture’s studio when Manet arrived. She was just 16, with red hair and nicknamed La Crevette and would go on to become the muse for some of the biggest artest at that time. He would paint her for the first time in The Street Singer, with her piercing eyes that we would come to know so well in two of his most famous and controversial paintings. 

Victorine Meuret, was called many names including La Crevette for her red hair. Her hair is the last thing you notice in the two paintings she is so widely known for, Olympia and Dejeuner sur l’herbe. When these two paintings appeared at the Salons of 1863 & 1865 he shocked Paris. The naked woman in a contemporary setting caused a backlash that followed him for years, yet today there are just a few of his beloved pieces and always garner a crowd in the Musée d’Orsay. 

Dejeuner sur l’herbe 1863

1863 Salon 2783 of the 5000 submitted were rejected 

Inspired by Raphael’s Judgment of Paris painted in 1518 and hanging in the Louvre. As a certified painter in the Louvre he would often visit and one day said “It seems that I shall paint a nude. Very well I shall paint one”, adding “people like those you see down there”. Manet knew what he was going to do was risky “the public will rip me to shreds, but they can say what they like”. 

Le Bain as it was originally called included Victorine Meuret and his family. In the Judgment of Paris, Raphael on the right depicts Neptune holding his trident. Manet used the same pose for Ferdinand, the brother of his over Susanne Lehoff replacing the trident with a cane. It is also the same pose as Adam from Michelangelo’s Creation. Dressing the men in modern day Second Empire clothing. 

Today it is widely accepted to be Victorine but it is more likely that he used his lover Suzanne Leenhoff. However at the end he would use the face of Victorine to conceal the woman he was in a secret relationship with. It was his way of going after his father who is believed to have also had an affair with Suzanne. Keeping it all in the family.  Victorine, the water nymph looks straight at you like in Raphael’s. 

In the foreground is a basket spilled out with figs of September and cherries of June laying on her discarded dress. Behind her to the left is either Eugene or Gustave, both sat for him for the painting and in the river behind it is believed to be Victorine as well. 

When Manet painted this monumental piece in 1862, much like his painting Olympia, this one also was met with much controversy. Rejected from the Salon and displayed at the Salon des Refusés with his other Impressionist friends in 1863, the subject of a nude woman sitting between two fully clothed men was a scandal for the time. Although, Émile Zola proclaimed it “the greatest work of Édouard Manet

She would sit for him a last time in 1873  for The Railway before they parted ways. She would sit for Toulouse-Lautrec and Degas while she chased her own painting dreams. Sadly only two of her paintings remain at the museum in Colombes. Other than Berthe Morisot, Victorine is a beautiful face we know so well from the brush of Manet and I never miss a chance to stand in front of her and admire such a stunning piece of art and a more amazing woman.

Manet kept it until 1878 and sold it to singer Faure for 2600 francs. In 1898 Durand-Ruel bought it and shortly after sold it to Moreau-Nelaton who loaned it to the Universal Exhibition in 1900. Moreau-Nelaton donated his collection to the Louvre and hung in the Pavillon Marsan of the MAD and now Dej is in the Orsay

Olympia 

One of the most recognized paintings of Manet, is surely Olympia, the painting that caused quite a stir at the 1865 Salon. The naked woman was a usual subject in art as far as we can go back to cave drawings but it was the look on Olympia’s face, the pose of her body and the implied job that she has that made a few turn their heads in disgust. Manet painted Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe the same year as Olympia and used the same model for both, Victorine Meurent . Victorine as Olympia is laying on a bed of crisp white sheets and oriental shawl beneath her, with a beautiful heeled slipper on, one discarded and laying on the bed. The flower behind her ear, the gold bracelet on her arm and the black ribbon and jewel hanging around her neck all give the impression of a seductive and wealthy Parisian courtesan. 

For Olympia, Manet gave every aspect of the painting the same importance. 

The cat, a symbol of prostitution, the gaze on her face that seems to say “next” and the bouquet flowers that are just as vibrant as the oriental shawl beneath her naked body.  For over one hundred years, it has always been known simply as Olympia, with no name given of her maid that is presenting her with flowers from what we assume is a client. The exhibition finally gave her a name, Laure. Laure posed for Manet three times after meeting him while walking through the Jardin des Tuileries. 

Her name is only known today from a diary Manet kept, and only her first name and her address in Paris. “Laure, a very beautiful black woman, 11 rue Vintimille 3rd floor” written around 1862. 

Given the name Olympia, a name associated with prostitutes and the many small elements that hint at her wealth, many of which transferred over to the model herself. Victorine was nothing close to the woman in the painting, Born to a well established artistic family she would become an artist herself and present her work at the Salon in 1870.

However it was Manet that painted her and gave her the “invisibility”, but with Laure we get a better impression of what the entire painting is trying to tell us. With the addition of Laure, Olympia now has high social standing as a courtesan. Laure presents the flowers of her gentleman caller, giving a slight bow as she enters the room. 

Olympia would stay in the procession of Manet hanging in his studio until his death. Claude Monet would purchase it from his widow, Suzanne and give it to the Musée du Louvre. An image many know so well, went from the hand of one master to another and then lucky for us, on view to share with the world. It’s breathtaking to see up close and no wonder it has been copied many times by other artists including Cézanne. Cézanne took a spin at Olympia with a behind the scenes glimpse before Manet took to the canvas. 

Manet kept the painting in his collection until his death, put up for sale the reserve was not met and Suzanne thought of selling it to an American. Monet got word of that and couldn’t let Manet’s masterpiece leave France. Gathering artists and collectors more than 19,415 francs was raised, just shy of her asking for 20k francs. She agreed to sell it to them and then Monet went to the Louvre to ask them to purchase it. The refused and it took many years before the Lux agreed to take it into their collection as it didn’t meet the ten years after the artist death rule for the Louvre. 

On January 6, 1907 it hung in the Louvre in the Salle des Etats next to Ingres’ Grand Odalisque. It would be moved to the Jeu de Paume that housed the Impressionist before the Orsay was eventually built, and hung in a place of prominence. Today in the Orsay she is in a darker room off the main alley 

Berthe Morisot met Manet in the Louvre where she was learning how to paint as a copyist and he was captivated by her and wanted to paint her immediately. Le Balcon painted in 1868 showcases Morisot sitting behind the iron railing holding a fan, but my favorite is her portrait. Berthe is shown in black mourning clothes with a very small bouquet of violets, painted in 1872. 

Berthe Morisot with violets 1872

Berthe Morisot, one of the few women of the Impressionist Movement, with her dark locks and stunning gaze, was the perfect model for Édouard Manet.  However, she would become an artist in her own right stepping behind the canvas to create paintings that showed everyday family life, forging her own path among  the male dominated Impressionists    

As a girl, Berthe and her sister Edma would visit the Louvre as art students and spend their day copying the great masters.  Artist Henri Fantin-Latour took his friend Édouard Manet one day to the Louvre to meet Morisot who was copying a Rubens painting. It would be the start of a very long friendship. Following Manet’s shocking  the Parisian Salon with Olympia and Déjeuner sur l’herbe he was looking for  a new model, and Berthe would have everything he wanted. In 1868, Manet painted The Balcony for which Berthe would pose after much apprehension. Being a model for an artist was not the profession for a woman of society in Paris at the time. Continuing to work with Manet for six years, he would capture her many times including his hauntingly beautiful painting, Berthe Morisot with a Bouquet of Violets that can be seen in the Orsay. Painted in 1872 Morisot is in black mourning attire after her father's death. You almost miss the violets as you are so drawn to her striking face. 

Morisot and Manet had a relationship built on great respect and love between two artists. In 1874, she would marry Édouard’s brother Eugène Manet, a marriage that would give her the time to focus on her art.  Painting the simple moments of a woman’s everyday life and those between a mother and child often outside under the trees or in an open field.  Her soft inviting images rivaled that of many of the men of the Impressionist movement. 

In the end of his life, suffering the effects of syphilis and an amputated leg, he painted one more masterpiece. Un Bar aux Folies-Bergère, look closely and see much more than what she is looking at. Behind her and to the side tells the story of the high point of the Belle Epoque. 

Listen to all the details and so much more about these three ladies and Manet in the newest episode of Paris History Avec a Hemingway.

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Episode 59 - Dora Maar

Dora Maar from the end of her life until today is widely labeled the “Muse of Picasso”. As with most women in history they are relegated to being a postscript in a man's story, Dora was much more than that. 

Born on November 22, 1907 Henriette Markovitch in Paris at the Tarnier Maternity Clinic at 89 Rue d’Assas. Her father Joseph was a Croatian architect and her mother Louise-Julie Voisin from Cognac and owned a fashion boutique. In 1910 she headed to Buenos Aires with her parents for her fathers job and returned to Paris a few years later. Enrolling in the Union Centrale des Arts Decoratifs and l’Academie Julian in 1923 and 1927 one of the few that allowed women artists. 

Photography was her art form and from early on her eye for details gor her into the exclusive clubs of artists. A meeting with Pierre Kéfer and Louis Chavance would lead her to Man Ray who she asked to work with. Man Ray hired her as a model instead and she was able to work closely with the Surrealist and learn many of his tricks.

In May 1931 she officially went by Dora Maar and photographed fashion houses for magazines and publications to pay the bills. Her more artistic work garnered her a place in the Exposition Intl in Brussels for her solo work and collaboration with Kéfer. 

In December 1935 on a cold night at Les Deux Magots sitting alone and stabbing a knife between her open fingers she caught the eye of Picasso. He was instantly taken with her and her bold personality. Dora was at the top of her game and the peak of her career, Picasso was in the depth of his. Unable to paint or be inspired but that all changed the night he met Dora. The two began a relationship that would last eleven years built on a trust between two artists that inspired each other. Picasso painted her many times including his series of the crying woman. 

In the final two years of their relationship, her mother died, her father left and she flung deep into depression and manic episodes. Picasso paid for her care and gave her a house in the south but she would spend the rest of her life in seclusion away from the world. 

Listen to her full story and so much more in the newest episode of Paris History Avec a Hemingway. 

Episode 58 - La Goulue

Louise Joesphine Weber is remembered more for her adoptive name La Goulue and how she got the name. Born on June 12, 1866 in Clichy the love of dancing was instilled in her at a very early age by her mother. By 1882 she had moved to Montreuil and started dancing at the Moulin de la Galette in Montmartre. 

Customer and journalist Charles Desteque noticed her and introduced her to a friend, Charles Zidler who would later play a prominent role in her life. In the meantime she continued to dance at the  many bal musettes in Paris including the Closerie des Lillas, Elysees-Montmartre and the Bullier Bal. 

Charles came back into her life in 1889 when he and Joseph Oller were opening a new stage in Montmartre, the Moulin Rouge and asked Louise to be their headline dancer. Of course she jumped at the chance and in no time she was the hit of the stage with her signature move. At the height of the can-can she would turn her back to the audience and lift her skirt revealing her many layers of ruffles later captured by Toulouse-Lautrec. 

A perfect duo was created when Louise partnered up with Jules Etienne Edme Renaudin, aks Valentine Montagné, who was also called “the boneless” for his fluid dance moves. The two performed together at the Moulin Rouge from 1890-1895. Toulouse-Lautrec was as much a part of the Moulin Rouge as the can-can and could be found nightly sketching during the show. In 1895 he created his first lithograph “Dance at the Moulin Rouge” with Louise as his subject. The poster made Louise and Toulouse-Lautrec famous overnight. More than 3000 posters filled the streets of Paris. TL would capture her in four paintings and many posters creating a lasting friendship. 

Louise is better known as La Goulue, the glutton in French and is due to her habit of walking through the crowd and guzzling down the drinks of patrons sitting in the crowd. La Goulue danced until 1895 when she left the stage and became a lion tamer, I can’t make this up. 

In her later years she could be found walking the streets of Montmartre with her lion on a leash and selling cigarettes outside the Moulin Rouge . 

There is so much more to her life, be sure to listen to the newest episode of Paris History Avec a Hemingway on La Vie Creative Podcast.

Episode 57 - Liane de Pougy

Liane de Pougy at the end of her life was labeled “from whore to nun” but I am getting ahead of myself.  

Anne Marie Chassaigne was born June 2, 1869 in La Flèche in the Loire and raised in Brittany. On July 15, 1886 at 17 she married Joseph Armand Henri Pourpee who was a naval officer living in Marseille. Ten months later on May 15, 1887 Marc Marie Edmond Armand arrived; however the marriage wasn’t ideal. Joseph would be gone a lot and Anne Marie filled her time with another man. 

Suffering from frequent attacks by her husband that left scars on her chest for the rest of her life, it all culminated one night when he discovered her with her lover. He pulled out his pistol and shot at her, nicking her wrist. Anne Marie couldn’t take it much more, sold her piano, left her son with his father and his parents and moved to Paris. 

In Paris she began taking dance lessons from Marie-Therese Mariquita and changed her name to Liane de Pougy. Dancing in the cabarets of Paris she was quickly noticed for her striking beauty standing out in any crowd she stood in. Playwright Henri Meilhac was drawn to her and got her a job dancing at the Folies Bergeres in 1884 and also taking the stage of the Olympia. 

Wanting to achieve more she took acting lessons from Sarah Bernhardt who told her that she didn’t have any talent and she should “open her mouth only to smile”. As many of the women who danced on stage she also became a courtesan. Her beauty made her one of the most popular courtesans in Paris of the 19th and early 20th century. Maurice de Rothschild was known to shower her in jewels and gifts. Another famous courtesan, Valtesse de la Bigne taught her the finer points of their chosen profession resulting in an affair between the two in the later years of Valtesse’s life. 

As a muse for artists and composers she began her own venture into the creative life by writing. L’Insusive, her first novel was the story of courtesan Josiane de Valneige. Followed by five more novels  including a comedy L’Enlizement. 

In 1908, she met the Romanian Prince Georges Ghika who was the nephew of Queen Nathalie of Serbia. Fifteen years younger than her and a prince by name but without much money to his name. The two married on June 8, 1910 at the Église Saint Philippe-de-Roule in the 8e. The next day it was on the front page of the New York Times. “Paris professional beauty marries Prink Ghika, who championed her”.  

The Prince came across her one day in Saint Germain while being laughed at by a group of people, Liane was wearing a rather large hat and people gathered around her pointing and laughing on the mean streets of St Germain. He stepped in to uphold her honor and got into a scuffle resulting in his arrest for assault. 

The marriage between the two was good until 1926 when he decided he would leave her for the young Marion Thiebaut who had also been the lover of Liane for a short time. She was allowed to cheat on him with other women, but never men. He left until he heard she was going to file for divorce and to avoid a scandal he returned to her but it was never the same again. 

In 1928 they went to Grenoble where she met Mother Superior Marie Xavier of the Sainte-Agnes Asylyn and institute for disabled children. She threw herself into raising money for the institute and tapping into her wealthy friends back in Paris to assist. Staying closely aligned with the church she later in 1943 took the vow of Saint Dominic and changed her name again to Sister Anne Marie de la Penitence. 

On April 19, 1945 Prince Ghika died and she moved to Lausanne Switzerland. Staying in the Carlton Hotel, she rarely left her room and on December 26, 1950 she died. Buried in the Saint Agnes chapel of the Saint Martin Le Vinoux cemetery. The woman that lived so many different lives always followed her own voice. 

From 1919 to 1941 she kept a detailed diary that was later published in 1977, twenty-seven years after her death as My Blue Notebook.

Episode 56 - Madame de Sévigné

Madame de Sévigné, one of the greatest authors of the 17th century, never wrote a single book. Instead she is known to us today as a “lady of letters”. 

Marie de Rabutin Chantal was born February 5, 1626 in the Palais Royal home of her grandparents. By the time she turned seven both of her parents had died and was being raised by her grandparents and uncle Christopher. He would teach her latin, italian and spanish when she was quite young and turned her onto the great literature of the time rarely afforded to girls. 

In 1644 at 18 she married Henri de Sévigné at the Église Saint Gervais and two children followed. Françoise in 1646 and Charles in 1648 but the marriage would be short lived, Henri was quite the philanderer and had a difficult time keeping it in check  and it would end in his death. On February 5, 1651 his life would end in a duel. Challenged by François Amenieu over Mademoiselle de Gundron, one of his many mistresses. He didn’t fare well and died as a result. 

Madame de Sévigné at 25 became a wealthy widow which gave her a place in society few women could reach. Men would pursue her but she had no interest in getting married again. To fill her time she attended the salons and events of Paris and began to write letters to friends and family describing the scene and travels of each day. Women could rarely be published unless under a man's name and while she enjoyed the process she couldn’t be bothered worrying about how ro publish, so she took to her letters. 

In 1669 her daughter Françoise married Comte de Grignan  who was a widow twice over and much older than she. Their marriage would take François from her mother and Paris to the south of France and the Chateau de Grignan. On February 6, 1671 the first of over 1000 letters sent to her beloved daughter began. 

Each letter served as a snapshot of her life in Paris and the actions of each day. So descriptive and interesting, Françoise began to read them outloud where everyone anxiously attended. Once Madame learned of this she began to compose the letters with even more drama and excitement creating a performance with each page. They became so popular people began to copy them and send them to others. 

Sévigné mixed with the elites of Paris and was widely adored which got her into many events including the execution of two women involved in the Poison Affair, that she would note in detail within the letters. 

In the spring of 1662, the trial of her friend Nicolas Fouquet began mesmerizing all of Paris for a year. Attending the trial she detailed every moment in her letters making them one of the few eyewitness accounts. After his imprisonment she continued to send him letters that woul be intervened by Louis XIV. Worried her rather flippant tone may get her in trouble. Instead he was fascinated by her and invited her to court including the fete of the year The Pleasure of the Enchanted Island party. 

Held on May 7 to 13, 1664 the lavish event was dedicated to Anne d’Autriche, mother of Louis XIV but was actually a party to seduce one of his mistresses Louis de la Vallière. Molière, Lully, serperentant of music for the king, garden architect Andrea Le Notre had only a few weeks to put together something to please the king who fancied himself an actor. 

The Pleasure of the Enchanted Island was the story of Alcine and Roger. Alcine was a seductress who would charm soldiers and then trap them. Roger fell under her charms and while in jail became her lover. Roger of course was played by the Sun King dressed in red velvet riding a horse draped in gold and jewels followed by a 25 foot long golden chariot of Apollo. 

In 1677 Sévigné moved into the Hôtel des Ligneris, that would one day become the Musée Carnavalet  and sitting on the street that bears her name. Continuing to write letters she traveled between Paris and her daughter in the south of France where she would die on April 17, 1696 at 70 years old and buried in the Église Saint Sauveur of Grignan. 

After her death her granddaughter agreed to publish 28 of her letters. Heavily edited by the publisher the originals were then destroyed. The first three editions of the book constantly changed, In 1734 more than 600 letters were published and in 1754, 772 letters. In 1834, a professor on holiday in Dijon discovered 320 letters written to her daughter and would be published more than a hundred years later in 1953. Today 1120 letters have been published, mostly in French but some have been translated and can be found online. 

The Chateau de Grignan has been turned into a bit of a museum for her and her daughter with a few of the original letters on display. 

With the long-awaited reopening of the Musée Carnavalet, her former home, a painting by Claude Lefèbvre  and many of her objects can be found today including a few of her letters. 

 Listen to the newest episode of La Vie Creative - Paris History Avec A Hemingway today. 

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Episode 55 - Jeanne DuVal

Jeanne DuVal was the beautiful muse of Charles Baudelaire and would inspire his  glowing devotion. The Black Venus and Mistress of Mistresses as he called her is mostly unknown still to this day. 

Much of the details of her life are murky due to a fire that would destroy her vital documents. Born in the 1820’s in the Dominiquine Republic or Haiti, her grandmother was a slave and her mother took Jeanne and her brother to Paris to work in the brothels. 

Jeanne was tall and beautiful and her striking looks got her a role on the stage. Performing at the Théâtre de la Porte Sainte Antoine, although she wasn’t the best actor. A girl has to eat, so she became a prostitute for a short period. Nadar, the French photographer saw her on the stage and the two began an affair that lasted a year.  It was through Nadar that Jeanne and  Baudelaire would meet, but their love affair didn’t start right away. 

One night in Montmartre Baudelaire came across Jeanne being harassed by a group of drunks and stepped in to save her. After that the two began their 20 year tumultuous relationship. Baudelaire was already working on Fleur de Mal when the two began. Jeanne would inspire the flowery devotions of love and when things were bad would also inspire the hate filled pieces.  

Fleur de Mal (Flowers of Evil) covered everything from the transformation of Paris, which he was highly against, lesbianism, eroticism and love. Many people loved it but just as many hated it. Baudelaire and his printer were prosecuted for “attack on public morals”. 

Baudelaire lived all over Paris, including the sought after Hotel Lauzun on the Ile de la Cite and he rented a place for Jeanne just down the island on Rue le Regrattier. When they went through rough patches it wouldn’t last long. He would be at her apartment giving her money and spending time together much to his mothers chagrin. 

In 1859 Jeanne was paralized on the right side of her body and shortly after started to go blind. Baudelaire was there and paid for her care at the Maison de Santé Dubois and later in an apartment in Neuilly. Calling himself her caretaker at this point of their relationship.  

Baudelaire’s close friend Edouard Manet painted a portrait of Jeanne after seeing her only once. The “Mistress of Baudelaire” 1862 captures Jeanne seated on a couch with her legs up and enveloped in a large white skirt. Her arm over the back of the couch and her feet are placed in a strange way due to her paralysis, which many may never notice as the skirt shields most of her. 

Their relationship would finally end around this time and she would die sometime shortly after. The painting stayed in his possession until his death in a sense Jeanne stayed with him those final five years before he died in 1867.

Episode 54 - Nélie Jacquemart

Nélie Jacquemart was an artist and art collector whose love of art remains today in Paris. 

Cornélie Barbe Hyacinthe Jacquemart was born July 25, 1841 in Paris. Her father worked for Alphée Bourdon de Vatry who was a wealthy politician and stock broker. Shortly after her birth he passed away and she and her mother continued on with the Vatry family and living with them in their grand home on Rue de Londres. 

Alphée married Rose Agusta Émilie Paméla Hainguerlot and was drawn to the young Cornélie. Unable to have children of her own she imparted her love of art and culture on Cornélie who soaked it all up. Armed with art supplies she started to draw, encouraged by Rose who was also able to enroll her into a workshop given by artist Léon Cogniet, one of the few artists to give lessons to women. 

In 1858 while attending the social event of the year, the funeral for Malka Kachwar, queen of Oude Nélie which she now went by, was sketching the people in attendance. An editor for L’Illustration newspaper saw her sketches and asked to publish them in their January 1858 issue. A stroke of the right place at the right time for a young female artist. 

It got the attention of the art community in Paris and two years later she was displaying her paintings at an exhibition in Versailles and just after that she was appearing on the walls of the Salon of 1863 with the biggest artists of the time. Her paintings were sold and commissions followed for portraits and paintings for the local churches. Today you can still find her paintings in the Notre Dame de Clignancourt and Saint Jacques de Haut Pas 

In 1872 Edouard André contacted Nélie to paint a portrait of the wealthy French banker who lived in the grand mansion on Boulevard Haussmann. Edouard had been a member of the military and a member of the protective force for Napoleon III before he turned to the family business of politics and banking. 

At the time Haussmann was cutting through Paris creating the vast boulevards lined with iron lined balconies. Architect Henri Parent, the runner up to Charles Garnier in the competition to design the Opera, would design the classically stunning home to house his art collection. 

Nine years after he first sat for Nélie, the two would meet again and shortly after on June 29, 1881 the two would marry. Edouard was now 48 and in ill health and his family pushed for the marriage and convinced Nélie of the union. There wasn’t a lot of love there but they did get along well and both loved art. Edouard even had one of the large rooms transformed into a studio for her painting but as soon as they were married she put down her brushes and never picked them up again. 

With a keen eye of her own when it came to collecting art, the two began to travel all over Europe, the near east and Asia to collect paintings, objects and furniture. The two happily amassed one of the greatest personal collections in Paris and even went up against the Louvre at auctions that resulted in the purchase of a Rembrant, The Pilgrims of Emmaus. On July 16, 1894 Edouard died after years of battling syphilis. His former will had given all of his wealth and property back to his family, the same family that encouraged Nélie to marry him. In the last few months of his life he changed it and named Nélie his sole heir. The family was not pleased and took her to court, but his wishes were upheld and Nélie inherited everything. 

In the following years she continued to travel, adding to her personal gallery. On a 1902 voyage around the world when she got word that the Abbey de Chaalis, the former property of Rose de Vatry was for sale. The fondest memories of her childhood centered around this lovely property 40 kilometers north of Paris. Cutting the trip short and just before she was to leave for Japan she returned to Paris and purchased the former abbey. 

The Abbey de Chaalis dates back to 1137 when it was built under the orders of Louis VI. Consecrated in 1219, over time the medieval buildings fell in disrepair and were destroyed and in the 18th century new buildings were added and eventually in 1850 Rose de Vatry purchased the property including the Saint Marie chapel and restored the fresco ceiling. 

For ten years Nélie enjoyed the abbey and filled it with her art and furniture and spent long periods there. On May 15, 1912 Nélie died and left both the mansion in Paris and the abbey to the Institut de France with very specific instructions on how her art was to be displayed. 

On December 8. 1913, less than seven months after her death the Musée Jacquemart André in Paris and the Abbey de Chaalis were opened to the public, left exactly how she intended it. 

The  Musée Jacquemart André is a wonderful museum that features her own collection of art that includes paintings by Rembrandt, Vigee Le Brun and Jacques Louis David. It is a triple threat museum, not only do you get to step into the life of Nélie and Edouard and their personal collection but twice a year they hold wonderful exhibits. 

Her collection includes more than 4000 pieces that are housed between the museum in Paris and the Abbey de Chaalis. The Abbey and it’s grounds can be easily visited, just check the hours before you go. 

Abbey de Chaalis

Musée Jacquemart André

Episode 53 - Ladies of the Louvre part deux

The Musée du Louvre and it’s list of amazing art is endless and hard to know where to even start. We will help share a few pieces that you don’t want to miss on your next trip to Paris. 

The Jardin du Luxembourg is filled with over 100 statues and monuments dedicated to artists. Authors and the illustrious women in French history and for a short period of time Jeanne d’Arc was one of them. Marie de Medici had the palace and garden created to remind her of growing up in Florence but most of what we see today was added long after she was gone. 

In 1848 Louis Philippe commissioned twenty statues for the Luxembourg. He picked each one that went from Queen Berthe to Anne d’Autriche and included Jeanne d’Arc. The Maid of Orleans was sculpted in 1845 by Francois Rude and was placed in the south side of the garden in 1852. In 1871 she was removed for safekeeping and eventually came to live in the Louvre. 

Jeanne d’Arc is normally captured in her armor and charging off to battle, but Rude decided to depict her in a dress with her armor at her feet with her right hand near her ear as she listened to the voices of the saints. 

Eugène Delacroix, the leader of the Romantic movement’s most recognized painting is La Liberté guidant le people, painted in 1830 for the Salon of 1831. The painting commemorates the Paris uprising of July 1830, known as the Trois Glorieuses, that ousted King Charles X.  

Liberty is the focal point of the painting, an allegorical figure rich with Greek imagery. Wearing the Phrygian cap that is worn by Marianne, the symbol of the French Republic and France.  With her right hand, she is holding the tricolor flag of France and her left is a bayoneted musket. Her bare breasts signifies the birth of democracy, charity and motherhood and her free flowing dress conveys her movement as she climbs over the cobblestone barricades calling for all to stand up and fight.  

Using the barricade as a pedestal, her movement evokes that of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, although the statue was discovered long after Delacroix painted this masterpiece. In the top right of the photo, the towers of Notre Dame rise from the smoke with a small tricolor flying in the wind. The painting even inspired Bartholdi when he created the Statue of Liberty, with her right arm holding up a torch instead of a flag.  

Long before there was social media one had to use large format paintings to spread their propaganda. Napoleon was a master at this and when it was time for his coronation he asked Jacques Louis David to capture the event, or the way Napoleon wanted it to be told. 

The Coronation of Napoleon (Le Sacre de Napoléon) is the immense painting that stretches 33 feet across the Pompei red walls of the Salle Daru in the Denon wing. Jacques-Louis David was commissioned by Napoleon himself, and didn't start the actual piece until a year later, with Napoleon making a few specific changes and additions to the painting that were a bit different from the actual event. The biggest being his mother, sitting in the balcony above him. She was not a  fan of Josephine, and was still in Rome and refused to attend, Napoleon asked David to add her.  The original drawing of the Pope had him sitting and looking on and the little Emperor said "I didn't bring him here to do nothing" so he was altered in the final piece to be anointing the ceremony.  Also looking down from above is the artist himself, David added himself into the balcony over the Emperor's mother. There are many other little secrets hidden in this painting, including Jules Cesar. Just behind Napoleon’s shoulder, the Roman Emperor gives Napoleon the side eye as he raises his arms. Napoleon wanted to be aligned to the great Emperors before him and had David add his likeness into this snapshot of history.

Listen to the full episode to learn even more about these three pieces including the jealous sisters that tried to foil the whole thing. 

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Episode 52 - Gabrielle d'Estrées

Gabrielle d’Estrées, a woman known more for her risque painting than of her life itself. Gabrielle was born around 1573, and daughter of Antoine d’Estrées, Baron de Boulonnois and Françoise de la Bourdaisieres. She was one of eleven children, seven of which were girls and gave them the moniker “seven deadly sins” by the Marquis de Sevigné.

Gabrielle mingled in the court of Henri III and where she met Roger de Bellegarde who was close with Henri III and Henri IV. One the occasion that Roger was meeting with Henri IV, Gabrielle was spotted at court and Henri was instantly obsessed. For six months he chased her and she resisted until she finally gave in. 

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Henri IV did not hide his relationship or his love he had for Gabrielle, even in the midst of trying to get his marriage to Marguerite de Valois annulled. To keep her close at court he orchestrated a marriage between Gabrielle and Nicolas d’Amerval on June 8, 1592. To thank him for his role, Nicolas was given the title of Baron de Benais. 

Henri was eager to end the marriage with Marguerite and to marry Gabrielle and asked Pope Clement VIII to dissolve his marriage. Clement had his own ideas and wanted Henri to marry his niece, Marie de Medici and was slow moving on giving Henri what he wanted. 

Always by his side, Gabrielle was instrumental in helping to end the many religious conflicts and converting Henri to Catholocisim in 1593. However, she wasn’t loved by the people who called her the “duchess of garbage” and attacked her spending. Nonetheless, she sat next to Henri on his triumphant return to Paris later that same year. Henri had every intention to marry her and presented her with his coronation ring in front of the court. 

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The union of Gabriele and Henri resulted in three children. Caesar in 1594, Catherine in 1596 and Alexandre in 1598. All three were legitimized in the eyes of the monarchy and the church as Henri’s children. In 1599 she became pregnant again. Each of her pregnancies were very easy, but this fourth was giving her a lot of issues. Sick everyday she struggled everyday for five months. 

On April 6, 1599 she left Henri behind at Fontainebleau, it was just a few days before their wedding planned for April 11, Easter. She cried and sobbed and had to be pulled off of him, on what would be the last time she saw her love. On April 7 she dined with Sebastion Zamet, an  Italian that had arrived in France with Catherine de Medici and was also close with Marie de Medici. That night at dinner when she said she wasn’t feeling well, Zamet gave her a frosted lemon. The next day she began having contractions and pains, she was only 5 months along. 

The baby had already died and doctors tried to figure out what to do as she got worse. After a day her face and neck suddenly turned black leaving the doctors baffled. When word finally reached Henri at Fontainebleau he travelled to Paris as fast as he could but it would be too late. On April 10, at just 26 years old Gabrielle would die, the day before their intended wedding. 

Distraught, Henri planned a lavish funeral at the Eglise Saint Germain l’Auxerrois fit for a queen. Henri dressed in black for months, shocking most as white was the normal color for royals in mourning. A lifelike effigy was created and placed in the room next to his where he would sit with her and eat his meals. 

Gabrielle was buried at the Abbey de Maubuisson where her sister was a nun and her children stayed close to their father.  Less than a year later Henri would marry Marie de Medici. 

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A painting that is sure to always catch the visitor’s eye is the presumed portrait of Gabrielle d’Estrées and her sister the Duchess of Villars. There is still a lot that is unknown of this painting, including that of the subject and the artist. Attributed to the Fontainebleau School in 1594, it is believed to be Gabrielle and her sister, the Duchess of Villars who held her nipple between her fingers, which was a gesture symbolizing pregnancy. Gabrielle would have been five months pregnant with the future Duke of Vendome, Henri IV’s illegitimate son. In Gabrielle’s left hand, she holds a ring between her fingers, the coronation ring of Henri– a token of his love and loyalty. In the background sits a woman sewing, could it be baby clothes. 

You can find this painting by following the snickering adults in the Richelieu wing on the 2nd floor in the salle Seconde École de Fontainebleau, room 824.

Episode 51 - Juliette Drouet

The life of Juliette Drouet is closely tied to Victor Hugo, but she wasn’t always his mistress. Born in 1806 and the youngest of four kids that along with her siblings became orphans when she was just two years old. 

Sent  from Fougères in Brittany to Paris to live with uncle René Henri-Drouet who wasn’t prepared for his new role as parent. Off to the convent Juliette went where two of her aunts served as nuns and could help watch over her. Juliette was already a rather headstrong young lady and was a handful and eventually sent back to live with her uncle. Juliette looked back quite fondly on these years when living with Uncle René in Paris and having free reign on the streets of Paris. 

In 1822, Juliette was presented to the Archbishop of Paris for a postulant role in the church. She managed to convince him that she wasn’t  fit for the post and her days in the church were over. These were the days of the artists and authors in Paris and the beautiful Juliette spent time in the Salons and parties mixing and mingling with them all. 

One artist she met when she was 19 years old was James Pradier. Pradier was quickly enamored by her beauty and asked her to model for him. At the same time Pradier was asked to create two of the statues in the Place de la Concorde. The statues over the guardhouses of Lille and Strasbourg fell into the hands of Pradier and he used the lovely Juliette as the face of Strasbourg that can still be seen today close to the Rue de Rivoli. 

Their time together quickly turned into an affair resulting in a child. Claire was born and Pradier refused to take responsibility for her but later Claire would spend most of her time growing up with her father. Pradier had given Juliette a taste of the finer things, showering her with clothes and jewelry and when their relationship ended she found a new way to keep her in the lap of luxury. 

Juliette’s beautiful head turning looks was garnering the attention of Paris, especially the men. In a way to help fund her shopping sprees, a life as a courtesan and on the stage fit the bill. Not exactly a natural actor, but her looks got the attention of the producers and audience and repeatedly got her roles onstage at the Theatre du Parc de Bruxelle in Paris. In 1833 a small role in Victor Hugo’s Lucretius Borgia would instantly catch the famed writer's attention. Mrs. Hugo, Adele even sent her a note that her husband would love to meet her. 

The first six months after they met it stayed very friendly until he couldn’t resist the fiery Juliette who had a reputation as a dominatrix. Toto, as she called Hugo in no time, paid off her debts and rented an apartment for her near his Place des Vosges home on the Rue Sainte-Anastase, but came with a very high cost. Her old ways on stage or as a courtesan had to stop and wasn’t allowed to leave her home without Victor Hugo. 

For fifty years, the two stayed together and she served as his secretary and copied each of his books and articles he wrote. Adele was aware of their relationship and even left in her will that her sons look after her in case Victor died before her. Adele had her own relationship with a former close friend of her husband Sainte-Beauve resulting in their  somewhat open marriage. 

The rules for Juliette were very strict including the need to write him a letter every day, sometimes multiple times a day. However, Hugo had different rules for himself. Many other ladies came in and out of his life including Léonie. Placing an ultimatum on Hugo to end his relationship with Juliette. Hugo refused and broke it off with Léonie, who in turn decided to wrap up all the letters Victor had sent her and to send them onto Juliette. Instead of upsetting her it only drew her closer to him. 

Shortly after, Hugo was forced to exile to Brussels and out of the clutches of all the other women. Juliette set up his papers and a place to stay and traveled with him and stayed nearby allowing them to have a somewhat normal relationship. During his exile, Adele died back in Paris in 1868 and upon his return in 1870 Juliette was finally allowed into the doors of the Place des Vosges home and home on the now Avenue Victor Hugo. 

After 50 years together, on May 11, 1883 Juliette died of stomach cancer, she was 77 years old. Hugo was destroyed and would die two years later.

Episode 51 - Madame de Berry

Marie- Caroline de Bourbon-Siciles, aka the Duchesse de Berry was born in Naples the daughter of the Crown Prince Francis Duke of Calabria and Marie Clementine of Austria, niece of Marie Antoinette. At the time of her birth in 1798 Napoleon was charging his way through Italy forcing the family to flee to Palermo and later pushing them into Sisily. 

Marie-Caroline found her way to France after her marriage to Charles Ferdinand, Duc de Berry son of Charles X. Louis XVIII was in power and without an heir Sixty years old and a widow he declared his nephew his rightful heir to the throne. Charles Ferdinand needed a wife, although he had many mistresses and children in France and England.  The two were married in Notre Dame de Paris on June 17, 1816.

Their marriage would be short when her husband Charles was stabbed as they left the Opera by a Bonapartist. She was two months pregnant at the time. While on his deathbed he revealed his wife was pregnant and also that he had illegitimate children. In September of 1819 De Berry gave birth to a son, Henri “the miracle child” in the Tuileries. Following his death she would move into the Palais des Tuileries into a set of rooms in the Pavillon de Marsan.

In 1830 after the Three Glorious Day in July the family was forced to exile as Charles X was ousted. De Berry believed her son Henri who now took on the self appointed title Henri V should be the king of France. Trying to gather enough support from other legitimate royal family members that she was trying to boost as she exiled to Italy. Gathering an army she quietly returned to France hoping to meet thousands of men who would help her fight for the monarchy. Arriving in Marseille only a small group of sixty men stood up to fight. 

As word spread that she had returned she was a wanted woman.In Nantes she hid in the home of Madame Duguigny across from the chateau of the Duke of Brittany. De Berry met her match in Simon Duetz who had learned of her hiding place and reported to the police who arrived to arrest her. Needing a place to hide she crawled up into the chimney, a great place to hide until one of the men lit a fire. Forcing her out she was arrested on November 7, 1832 and placed into jail. 

The plot thickens when she announces she is pregnant. The exiled royal family got word and turned their back on her. While she said she had secretly wed Hector-Lucichese-Palli, the dates weren’t adding up and was exiled from France to Palermo and her children were left with Madame Royale, daughter of Marie Antoinette in Goritz. 

Her final years were spent between the Chateau in Brunnsee, Austria and in Venice. A large supporter of the arts, she and her first husband had collected over 1000 works of art that she slowly sold off to help fund her life that was mostly spent alone in those later years. On April 16, 1810 she died in Austria at 71 years old. 

The Palais des Tuileries may be gone, but the Pavillon de Marsan still stands and is now part of the  Musée des Arts Decoratifs on the northwest end of the Louvre. Named for the Countess de Marsan who was the governess of Louis XVI & XVIII. She would live in the pavillon that would later take her name before the Duchess de Berry. Today you can walk through the museum and the Marsan that was rebuilt in 1874 and imagine de Berry spending her days painting and supporting the arts. 

A little farther through the museum is a room dedicated to de Berry with a large painting of her by Alexandre-Jean Dubois-Drahonet dominating the room. She stands in a green gown in her lavish room and large windows. The room itself is filled with a few of her personal pieces including her Psyché mirror, toilette and fauteuil gondole. The room also features furniture from the period including the lovely bed by Francois Baudry. With the curved lines of the nacelle that were popular during the Restoration and light woods bending the sheets of veneer to master the form.  Presenting his work at the 1827 Exposition he won a bronze medal presented to him as seen in the painting by the Duc d’'Angoulême, the Duchesse de Berry’s brother in law. My favorite thing in this room may be the wallpaper with its column and draping fabric that was just as much a work of art as anything else. Find all these treasures in one of my favorite museum’s permanent collections in the rue de Rivoli end of the Louvre. 

Episode 49 - Ladies of the Louvre

It’s a big day today for Paris History Avec A Hemingway podcast! It’s the 50th episode! It also happens to be my birthday and the same number. When trying to decide who we would talk about for this epic episode it was almost impossible. Then it came to me, it had to be about something in my favorite place to spend a day, the Musée du Louvre. 

The Louvre is filled with thousands of pieces of art, however most people only visit a few when they spend a few hours inside the historic walls. The three most popular ladies of the Louvre, may hang and stand there waiting for the thousands to take a selfie with but they each also have a story. 

The Mona Lisa, the most famous painting in the world, her image is recreated onto everything but few people know she was a real person. Lisa Giocondo was a Florentine woman married to Francesco who had commissioned Leonardo to paint his wife. They had five children, sadly only two made it to adulthood. When she sat for Leonardo it was just after one of her children died, he captures her in her morning attire. Francesco would die before he could ever pay for the painting and the painting would travel to France with the artist and later bought by Francois I. 

My favorite of the three is the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The majestic headless lady that stands high above the steps looking like she is about to take flight. Discovered in 1863 and dating back to the 2nd century BC. When she arrived at the Louvre in 1864 she was in 118 pieces. Her torso, left wing and lower body were first displayed without any plans to restore her. In 1871 a new restorer took on the task of putting her back together to the beautiful lady we see today. 

The Venus de Milo, may not even be Venus after all. The famous armless figure of beauty could be Amphitrite, goddess of the sea. Discovered by a Greek farmer on April 8, 1820 while looking for some rocks. Purchased for 1000 francs by the Marquis de Riviere on behalf of the French and after much negotiation she was finally sent to Paris as a gift for Louis-Philippe. He gave it to the Louvre, where she has been since 1821. 

Learn even more about these three Ladies of the Louvre on today’s episode available now