Catherine-Rosalie Gerard Duthé (1748–1830), alternately Duthe or Du The, was a celebrated French

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other ...

. A companion of French kings and European nobility, she has been called "the first officially recorded

dumb blonde Blonde stereotypes are stereotypes of blonde- haired people. Sub-types of this stereotype include the " blonde bombshell" and the "dumb blonde". Blondes are stereotyped as more desirable, but less intelligent than brunettes. There are many bl ...

."Victoria Sherrow. ''Encyclopedia of hair: a cultural history''
Page 149
/ref> Duthé was a frequently requested subject for

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this ...

s, including partial and full nudes, many of which still exist in museums and private collections.

Biography

After quitting a French

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

, Duthé became the mistress of wealthy English financier

George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Pres ...

(1751–1837), "whom she is said to have ruined." She then became a dancer at the

Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded ...

, and the companion to various noblemen, including the Duc de Durfort, the Marquis de Genlis, and the young Comte d'Artois, the future

Charles X of France Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lo ...

. In an incident around 1788,

Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (Louis Philippe Joseph; 13 April 17476 November 1793), was a major French noble who supported the French Revolution. Louis Philippe II was born at the Château de Saint-Cloud to Louis Philippe I, Duke of Char ...

, presented Duthé to his 15 year-old son Philippe (later King

Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...

) to "learn some facts of life." When she was later seen in Philippe's royal carriage on the

Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is l ...

, some young aristocrats took offense, as normally only princes rode in royal carriages; they sang a song set to a popular tune using the lyrics , roughly translated as "La Duthé must have suckled royally."Alain Guédé. ''Monsieur de Saint-George: virtuoso, swordsman, revolutionary''
Page 72
/ref> In Parisian society, Duthé developed a certain "reputation by adopting the habit of pausing for extended periods of time before speaking." She appeared not only stupid, but dumb in the literal sense. This inspired a one-act satire about her called (Paris 1775) that "kept Paris laughing for weeks." The play apparently distressed Duthé so much that she promised to kiss anyone who restored her honor; the offer went untaken. Although the origin of the stereotype of the dumb blonde is not entirely clear,

cultural historian Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing ...

Joanna Pitman has noted that "Rosalie Duthé acquired the dubious honour of becoming the first officially recorded dumb blonde." Duthé was the supposed author of an

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English p ...

, (1833), though it has been claimed the real author was Baron Lamothe-Langon, who had known Duthé personally.William Pettigrew Gibson. ''Miniatures and illuminations''. 1935 Rosalie Duthé died in 1830, probably around the age of 82. She is buried at

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figures ...

In art

Duthé was often requested by portrait painters for sittings, including for partial and full nudes.Olivier Blanc, ''Portraits de femmes, artistes et modèles au temps de Marie-Antoinette'', Paris, Didier Carpentier, 2006 She was painted by

François-Hubert Drouais François-Hubert Drouais (Paris, 14 December 1727 – Paris, 21 October 1775) was a leading French portrait painter during the latter years of Louis XV's reign.For a history of the Drouais family, see Prosper Dorbec (1904, 1905) and Camille Gabill ...

in 1768, for a full-length portrait now held by the English branch of the

Rothschild family The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Frankfurt that rose to prominence with Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), a court factor to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the Free City of F ...

. Salbreux-Perin, better known as a

miniaturist A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century eli ...

, made at least five portraits of Duthé, including a nude of her sitting modestly at the end of her bath that was intended for the bathroom of the

Comte d'Artois Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...

Bagatelle Bagatelle (from the Château de Bagatelle) is a billiards-derived indoor table game, the object of which is to get a number of balls (set at nine in the 19th century) past wooden pins (which act as obstacles) into holes that are guarded by woode ...

. Another shows her lying naked on her bed, hair disheveled, now among the collections of the

Museum of Fine Arts, Rheims The Museum of Fine Arts (french: Musée des beaux-arts) is a fine arts museum in Reims, France. History Antoine Ferrand de Monthelon, founder of the school of drawings, bequeaths in 1752 his collection to the city of Reims. Organizer and first c ...

. Antoine Vestier (1740–1824) painted the nude ''Portrait of Rosalie Duthé'' ().

Henri-Pierre Danloux Henri-Pierre Danloux (24 February 1753 – 3 January 1809) was a French painter and draftsman. He was born in Paris. Brought up by his architect uncle, Danloux was a pupil of Lépicié and later of Vien, whom he followed to Rome in 1775. In 17 ...

(1753–1809) was Duthé's favorite artist, and he recorded some of his sessions with her in his diary. Danloux painted a number of portraits, including ''Mademoiselle Rosalie Duthé'' (1792), commissioned by Duthe's friend and banker Jean-Frédéric Perregaux, who is said to have contemplated this image on his death-bed. Claude-Jean-Baptiste Hoin (1750–1817) painted ''Presumed portrait of Rosalie Duthé'' (date unknown). Other painters who made portraits include

Jean-Honoré Fragonard Jean-Honoré Fragonard (; 5 April 1732 (birth/baptism certificate) – 22 August 1806) was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism. One of the most prolific ar ...

Pierre-Paul Prud'hon Pierre-Paul Prud'hon (, 4 April 1758 – 16 February 16, 1823) was a French Romantic painter and draughtsman best known for his allegorical paintings and portraits such as '' Madame Georges Anthony and Her Two Sons'' (1796). He painted a portra ...

and Jacques-Antoine-Marie Lemoine. Among the sculptors who created busts of her are

Jean-Baptiste Defernex Jean-Baptist Defernex () was a French sculptor, best known for his portrait busts, most often of women. Career Little is known of Defernex's early training, but he started as a modeler at the Sèvres factory. He was sculptor to the Duc d'Orl ...

and

Jean-Antoine Houdon Jean-Antoine Houdon (; 20 March 1741 – 15 July 1828) was a French neoclassical sculptor. Houdon is famous for his portrait busts and statues of philosophers, inventors and political figures of the Enlightenment. Houdon's subjects included De ...

. Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun painted ''Portrait of Mademoiselle Rosalie Duthé'' (1776), but she never took Duthé as a model and the painting is now considered a copy of someone else's portrait.

Notes

References

External links

''Souvenirs de Mlle Duthe de l'opera, 1748–1830. Avec introd. et notes de Paul Ginisty''
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music ...

Paintings of Rosalie Duthé
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duthe, Rosalie 1748 births 1830 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Mistresses of French royalty Courtesans from Paris