Émilie Bigottini (16 April 1784, in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

– 28 April 1858, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a French dancer of Italian ancestry. The daughter of Francesco Bigottini, a famous

harlequin Harlequin (, , ; , ) is the best-known of the comic servant characters (Zanni) from the Italian commedia dell'arte, associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by the Italian actor-manager Zan ...

Comédie-Italienne Comédie-Italienne () or Théâtre-Italien () are French names which have been used to refer to Italian-language theatre and opera when performed in France. The earliest recorded visits by Italian players were ''commedia dell'arte'' companies ...

, she joined the Opéra ballet at age 17 and led its company until her retirement in 1823, distinguishing herself in the

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

s of Louis Milon.

Napoleon I of France Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

was one of her fervent admirers. Despite her numerous liaisons, she escaped the reputation for immorality which afflicted most of her contemporaries in the dance world. She was considered as an example of good artistic taste, svelte, precise and excelling in

mime A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek language, Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a the ...

. She had several children, all out of wedlock: * a daughter with Gérard Christophe Michel Duroc, duke of Frioul; * a daughter, Armandine Alphonsine Pignatelli d'Aragon Bigottini, born in Paris on April 10, 1807. The child's father, the prince Pignatelli, eventually recognized her. Armandine married Alphonse Daloz in 1827, and had two children; she died in

Créteil Créteil () is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Créteil is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, dep ...

on August 11, 1833. * a son, François Jean Charles, born in Paris on August 27, 1815.Archives de Paris The child was conceived during the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

and his father presumed to be an Austrian count. (Bigottini had accompanied Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord to Vienna in 1814.)

Sources

* Félix-Bouvier, ''Une danseuse de l'Opéra, la Bigottini'' (Paris, Noël Charavay, 1909).

References

1784 births 1858 deaths French female dancers French people of Italian descent Entertainers from Toulouse Bigottini 19th-century French ballet dancers {{Ballet-bio-stub