PORTRAIT OF JOSEPHINE WEIMER (1787-1867)... - Lot 260 - Osenat

Lot 260
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PORTRAIT OF JOSEPHINE WEIMER (1787-1867)... - Lot 260 - Osenat
PORTRAIT OF JOSEPHINE WEIMER (1787-1867) AFTER ISABEY engraving of the actress called Mademoiselle George, enhanced with colors in an oval medallion, the rectangular frame in lemon tree. On the reverse a handwritten note in ink, signed J. Perrin and dated June 1868, with the bookplate Le Fuel XIXe siècle Dim of the view H : 12,5 - L : 10 cm. Provenance: Hector Le Fuel collection It was in Amiens, where her family lived, that Miss Raucourt, the famous tragedienne of the Théâtre-Français, passing through the town in October 1801 1, met the young actress. Struck by her beauty and the surety of her gestures, she wished to take her to Paris where she would take care of her future. On November 28, 1802 (Frimaire 7, year XI), she was not yet sixteen years old and made her debut at the Comédie Française, in the role of Clytemnestre in Iphigénie, en Aulide by Jean Racine, in the presence of the First Consul and Joséphine. She is the "French Venus": brown hair, black eyes full of flame and tragic flashes, a thin and straight nose, a powerful mouth". "Superb woman", according to Lucien Bonaparte. In Paris, Mlle George benefits from Talma's advice and resumes her performances. She lives at 2, rue de Castiglione. At twenty-seven, she has never been so beautiful. She is Emilie in Cinna (28 Dec. 1802), Phèdre in the play of that name (16 Feb. 1803), Hermione in Andromaque (1 July 1803). The critics were won over: "She has proved that if her figure can inspire love, her talent can also express it, she has won all the votes". On August 4, her salary is already 4,000 francs per year... The beauty of Miss George attracts the First Consul, he invites her to come to Saint-Cloud (June 8, 1803), he receives her at the Tuileries in the former apartment of Bourrienne, which communicates with his office. On March 17, 1804, Miss George became a member of the Comédie Française. In 1808, riddled with debts, she moved to St. Petersburg from 1808 to 1813, where she met up with some French actors, (6) (7). She was well received by the tsar and the Russian nobility. She played at the Imperial Theatre, and had many successes. After the Russian campaign in 1812, she decided to go to Sweden. In Stockholm, she was welcomed by Bernadotte, the royal prince of Sweden, who paid her the same tributes as the tsar. In 1812, the Russian campaign made the situation of the French actors more and more difficult. After the battle of Moskowa, she left St Petersburg on 28 January 1813. On 19 June 1813, it reached Dresden, where Napoleon was. While waiting for the Congress of Prague, the Emperor had the Comédie Française play in front of a royal audience, as in Erfurt. During the Second Restoration, she played in London, Brussels and then returned to Paris where she died of a pulmonary congestion on January 11th 1867. "No one has played the drama better: the classics and the romantics claim her exclusively" said Théophile Gautier 2. Cf: Marc Allégret, Revue du Souvenir napoléonien, n° 405, p. 41-42. 1 - Notice by J. Tulard, Dictionnaire Napoléon, 1st edition in 1 vol. p. 1442. 2 - Napoleon and the theatre, Revue du Souvenir Napoléonien, n° 274 and 275. J. Tulard, Dictionnaire Napoléon, 1st edition in 1 volume, p. 795. PORTRAIT OF JOSEPHINE WEIMER (1787-1867) AFTER ISABEY ENGRAVING OF THE ACTRESS KNOWN AS MADEMOISELLE GEORGE, HEIGHTENED WITH COLOR NINETEENTH CENTURY
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