Blanche d'Antigny (May 9, 1840 – June 30, 1874) was a French singer, actress and

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 ...

whose fame today rests chiefly on the fact that

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

used her as the principal model for his novel ''

Nana Nana, Nanna, Na Na or NANA may refer to: People and fictional characters * Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname * Nana ( ...

''.

Life

Blanche d'Antigny was born Marie Ernestine Antigny in Martizay, France. Her father, Jean Antigny, was the sacristan at a local church. At age 14 she ran off to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

with a lover whom she then abandoned for some gypsies. On her return to Paris she worked in the circus and in various dance halls. She also posed for

Paul Baudry Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

for his painting ''The Penitent Madeleine''. She became the mistress of the Russian police chief Mesentzov who took her to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and, when she was forced to leave Russia by special order of the Tsarina. 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 Hervé is a French language, French masculine given name of Breton language, Breton origin, from the name of the 6th-century Breton Saint Hervé. The common latinization of the name is Herveus (also ''Haerveus''), an early (8th-century) latinizati ...

brought her out as Frédégonde in '' Chilpéric'' (1868), and he went on stage to play

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

to her Marguerite in his masterpiece ''

Le petit Faust ''Le petit Faust'' is an opéra bouffe in four acts which burlesques the drama ''Faust'' by Goethe and the opera of the same name by Gounod. The music of the piece is by Hervé, with a text by Hector-Jonathan Crémieux and Adolphe Jaime. The work ...

'' (1869), a brilliant parody of both

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

'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.* Blanche d'Antigny played the leading roles in many of the hits of Hervé, Offenbach, and their disciples (', '' L'œil crevé'', '' La Vie parisienne'', ', etc. etc.) between 1870 and 1873. 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. After a scandal caused by the financial ruin of one of her lovers, she thought it better to leave Paris for a while. She went to Egypt where she appeared on the stage in Cairo and had an affair with the Khedive. When she was asked why she had taken along to Cairo not only her chambermaid but also her coachman, 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!'' She returned from this tour infected with

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

and died. Blanche d'Antigny 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 figure ...

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 19th-century French actresses French stage actresses 19th-century French women singers Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Deaths from typhoid fever Courtesans from Paris infectious disease deaths in France