La Fleur blanche was a famous ''maison close'' ( brothel) in the city of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, located at 6 rue des Moulins in the 1st Arrondissement. The property was also known as ''rue des Moulins'' and was famous for its torture room.

History

The building was originally the home of a regency financier, and became a brothel in 1860 during the

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

. It was one of the most luxurious brothels in Paris. Its clientele included kings, crown princes, members of the aristocracy, and numerous heads of state. The brothel was known for its extremely lavish bedrooms, each one having its own theme; for example, one was in a Moorish style, another was ducal. During the

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

, La Fleur blanche, like several other luxury Parisian brothels, was requisitioned for the use of German officers, in order to prevent their contacts with the local population. The health services of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

were responsible for organizing the sanitary control of these establishments. Captain Haucke, commissioner of Geheime Feldpolizei, was responsible for managing prostitution in Paris. In 1946, after the adoption of the "'' Loi Marthe Richard''", the brothel was closed. The contents were auctioned off by Maurice Rheims.

Works of Toulouse-Lautrec

''La Fleur blanche'' was notably frequented by

Toulouse-Lautrec Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in the l ...

(where he had a room, according to legend), He was called ''The Coffee Pot'' by the girls due to his small size. The artist painted ''Griserie the beautiful stranger'' on a wall in the brothel. The brothel also gave inspiration for forty paintings and drawings, including ''Mills Street Fair'' (1894), ''The Sofa'' (1894) and ''Ces dames au réfectoire'' (1893). He also painted the

prostitutes Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

in the "Rue des Moulins" at the time of a medical inspection of which they were obliged to have regularly. In ''Medical Inspection rue des Moulins'' (1894), two girls raise their shifts in preparation for the examination. A physician was sent to perform these weekly medical examination in deplorable conditions of hygiene, examining them with a disposable non-disinfected speculum.

La Païva bed

La Fleur blanche contained a lavishly carved mahogany bed. It was reputed to have been commissioned by 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 ...

La Païva Esther Lachmann (; better known as La Païva (); 7 May 181921 January 1884) was the most famous of the 19th-century French courtesans. A notable investor and architecture patron, and a collector of jewels, she had a personality so hard-bitten tha ...

, but she never took delivery. Instead it ended up in ''La Fleur blanche''. The bed was put up for auction in 2017 by

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

with a guide price of £500,000 - £800,000. Sotheby's described to bed as:

''An exceptional carved mahogany bed in the form of a shell-shaped vessel upon which a two-tailed figure of mermaid, carved in the round, is seated, her right arm upraised; the shell with ribbed mouldings and carved with scrolls and stylised shells, two swans guiding the boat on each side
210cm. high, 302cm. wide, 210cm. deep;''

References

Bibliography

*Marc Lemonier et Alexandre Dupouy, Histoire(s) du Paris libertin, La Musardine, 2003 (). *Véronique Willemin, La Mondaine, histoire et archives de la Police des Mœurs, Hoëbeke, 2009 (). *Nicole Canet, Maisons closes, 1860-1946 rchive328 pages, octobre 2009 (), édition simultanée à *l'exposition éponyme de décembre 2009, et Décors de bordels, entre intimité et exubérance rchive Paris, Province, *Afrique du Nord, 1860–1946, 408 pages, préface de Claude Croubois, textes d'Étienne Cance, octobre 2011 (). Tiré à 1 000 exemplaires. Chapitres consacrés à la Fleur Blanche. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleur blanche, La Buildings and structures in Paris Brothels in Paris Buildings and structures in the 1st arrondissement of Paris

History

Works of Toulouse-Lautrec

La Païva bed

See also

References

Bibliography