Jean-François Autié (1758 – 25 July 1794)Picard 1911
p. 122
was a

hairdresser A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be refe ...

to Queen

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

. He was the youngest brother of Léonard-Alexis Autié and Pierre Autié (1753 – 1814), who were also hairdressers at the royal court. All three brothers used the professional name of Monsieur Léonard.Bashor 2013, pp. X–XI, 5, 49.

Early life

Born in the medieval town of

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 it ...

in southwestern France, he was the son of Alexis Autié and Catherine Fournier, who were domestic servants.

Career as a hairdresser

Léonard-Alexis Autié, the oldest of the brothers, was the first to go to Paris, where he became the favorite

and was called Monsieur Léonard. Léonard-Alexis later arranged for Jean-François and Pierre to join him in Paris, and they became partners in a hair-dressing studio and school, known as the ''Académie de coiffure'', which was eventually situated in the

rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin This "quartier" of Paris got its name from the rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. It runs north-northwest from the Boulevard des Italiens to the Église de la Sainte-Trinité. In the 17th century the ''chemin des Po ...

. Taking advantage of their oldest brother's fame, Jean-François and Pierre also adopted the professional name of Monsieur Léonard. The ''Académie de coiffure'' in effect became the House of Léonard. Jean-François and their cousin Villanou (Jean-Pierre Autié, born 4 April 1762) also worked as hairdressers in the household of Marie Antoinette, while Pierre worked for the king's sister, Madame Elizabeth. In 1783, Jean-François purchased the legacy (''survivance'') of Jean-Remy Le Guay, Marie Antoinette's official ''valet de chambre'' and ''perruquier-baigneur-étuviste''. In 1788, upon Le Guay's death, Jean-François became the sole possessor of Le Guay's position.Vuaflart 1916
p. 308
Léonard-Alexis, who was no longer active as a hairdresser, kept the honorary title of ''Coiffeur de la reine''.

The flight to Varennes

In June 1791, Jean-François Autié (often referred to as Monsieur Léonard, hairdresser to the queen, and sometimes confused with Léonard-Alexis) accompanied the

Duc de Choiseul {{Unreferenced, date=April 2019 Choiseul is an illustrious noble family from Champagne, France, descendants of the comtes of Langres. The family's head was Renaud III de Choiseul, comte de Langres and sire de Choiseul, who in 1182 married Alix ...

during the royal family's

flight to Varennes The royal Flight to Varennes (french: Fuite à Varennes) during the night of 20–21 June 1791 was a significant event in the French Revolution in which King Louis XVI of France, Queen Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family unsuccessfull ...

Death

Jean-François Autié probably died in Paris under the

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at th ...

on 7

thermidor Thermidor () was the eleventh month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the French word ''thermal'', derived from the Greek word "thermos" (''heat''). Thermidor was the second month of the summer quarter (''mois d'ét ...

an II (25 July 1794), although this has been disputed.

Will Bashor Will Bashor (born Harold Willis Bashor, Jr.; 6 February 1951) is an American author of French history and international law. Background and education Bashor received his doctorate in International Relations from the American Graduate School i ...

suggests that with assistance he may have arranged for another nameless prisoner to take his place at the guillotine and fled France for America.Bashor 2013, pp. 215–216.

References

Notes

Sources

Bashor, Will Will Bashor (born Harold Willis Bashor, Jr.; 6 February 1951) is an American author of French history and international law. Background and education Bashor received his doctorate in International Relations from the American Graduate School i ...

(2013). ''Marie Antoinette's Head: The Royal Hairdresser, the Queen, and the Revolution''. Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press. . *Picard, Auguste (1911). ''Liste des victimes du Tribunal révolutionnaire à Paris''. Paris: Librairie Alphonse Picard et fils
Copy
at Gallica. *Tackett, Timothy (2003). ''When the King Took Flight''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. . *Vuaflart, Albert (1916). ''La maison du comte de Fersen, rue Matignon. La journée du 20 juin 1791 – Monsieur Léonard''. Paris
Copy
at Gallica. {{DEFAULTSORT:Autie, Jean Francois 1758 births 1794 deaths French hairdressers French people executed by guillotine during the French Revolution People from Pamiers Household of Marie Antoinette 18th-century French businesspeople