Blanche D'Antigny
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Blanche d'Antigny (9 May 1840 – 30 June 1874) was a French singer, actress and
courtesan A courtesan is a prostitute with a courtly, wealthy, or upper-class clientele. Historically, the term referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other powerful person. History In European feudal society, the co ...
whose fame today rests chiefly on the fact that
Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...
used her as the principal model for his novel '' Nana''. She was one of the most famous courtesans in Paris during the Second Empire.


Early life

Blanche d'Antigny was born Marie Ernestine Antigny in Martizay, France. Her father, Jean Antigny, was the
sacristan A sacristan is an officer charged with care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents. In ancient times, many duties of the sacrist were performed by the doorkeepers ( ostiarii), and later by the treasurers and mansionarii. The Decretal ...
at a local church. By the time she reached her mid teenage years, the tales of her beauty and charm were quite known. She proudly kept the nickname given to her by other girls at the convent, who called her Blanche due to her beautiful complexion. At age 14, she ran off to
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
with a lover whom she then abandoned. When she eventually made her return to Paris, she worked in the circus and in various dance halls. She also posed for multiple artists, most famously appearing half-nude in Paul Baudry's ''Penitent Magdalene'', which depicts the repentant saint
Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...
. D'Antigny became the mistress of the Russian police chief Mesentzov who took her to St. Petersburg in 1862 and in 1863 she was forced to leave Russia by special order of the Tsarina.


Career as actress and courtesan

When she set it into her head to become a star on the operetta stage, everything happened exactly as Zola later described it in ''Nana''. She was an immediate success on the stage and attracted scores of wealthy lovers. Hervé brought her out as Frédégonde in '' Chilpéric'' (1868), and he went on stage to play
Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...
to her Marguerite in his masterpiece '' Le petit Faust'' (1869), a brilliant parody of both
Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
's play and
Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...
's opera. Between 1870 and 1873, d'Antigny played the leading roles in many of the hits of Hervé, Offenbach, and their disciples (', '' L'œil crevé'', '' La Vie parisienne'', ', etc.) . Her lovers showered her with gifts and spent enormous sums of money on her, but she was unable to hold on to any of it. D'Antigny was a charming woman who was able to make many men of high status become infatuated with her. Although she was called one of the most seductive women of her time, her relationships were not solely based on physical attraction. D'Antigny was known for captivating men emotionally and intellectually, making her a highly influential figure in the period.


Cairo and death

After a scandal caused by the financial ruin of one of her lovers, she thought it better to leave Paris for a while. In late 1873, she went to Egypt where she appeared on the stage in Cairo and had an affair with the
Khedive Khedive ( ; ; ) was an honorific title of Classical Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the Khedive of Egypt, viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"Khedive" ''Encyclopaedi ...
. When she was asked why she brought her chambermaid and coachman to Cairo, although she had neither horses nor a coach there, she is reported to have answered: "What the hell! I owe Augustine 20,000 francs, and Justin 35,000; they wouldn't let me go without them!" D'Antigny returned from this tour infected with typhoid fever and later died. Her early death at age 34 led to her life being romanticized in French culture. Caroline Letessier, a fellow actress and courtesan, organized her funeral and paid for the expenses. D'Antigny is buried at
Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...
in Paris.


References


Sources

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External links


ANTIGNY Marie-Ernestine Blanche d' (1842–1874)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antigny, Blanche De 1840 births 1874 deaths People from Indre Actors from Centre-Val de Loire 19th-century French actresses French stage actresses 19th-century French women singers Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Deaths from typhoid fever in France Courtesans from Paris