Pauline Fourès (March 15, 1778 – March 18, 1869), born Pauline Bellisle, was a French painter and novelist in addition to being a mistress of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

Life

Fourès was born in

Pamiers Pamiers (; oc, Pàmias ) is a commune and largest city in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the most populous commune in the Ariège department, although i ...

on March 15, 1778 to Marguerite Brandon and Henri Jacques-Clement Bellisle, a clockmaker. She worked as a

milliner Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of ...

and married Jean-Noel Fourès, a cavalryman who was on leave from military duty. When Jean-Noel was called back to active duty during the couple's honeymoon, Fourès accompanied him on the French army's trip to Egypt. As the soldiers' spouses were not permitted to come on the transport ship, Fourès wore a

Chasseur ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History This branch of the French Army orig ...

uniform to disguise herself, successfully remaining undetected for 54 days until the expedition's arrival in Alexandria. After meeting Fourès, Napoleon sent her husband away on a military mission to France and began courting her. After her husband's early return, Fourès and Jean-Noel divorced. Pauline later married Pierre Henri de Ranchoux and then, after divorcing him, Jean Baptiste Bellard, an army officer. The couple set up a successful business in Brazil, from where she returned to Paris in 1837. She published two novels, ''Lord Wentworth'' (1813) and ''Aloïze de Mespres, nouvelle tirée des chroniques du XII° siècle'' (1814), which had some success.

Bibliography

* Marcel Dupont, ''Pauline Fourès:'' ''Une maîtresse de Napoléon'' (Hachette, 1942) * Roger Régis, ''Pauline Fourès dite "Bellilote" Maîtresse de Bonaparte en Egypte'' (Collection Les Grandes Favorites, 1946)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foures, Pauline 19th-century French painters 1778 births 1869 deaths People from Pamiers Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Mistresses of Napoleon