Étienne Marin Mélingue (1807–1875) was a French actor,

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and painter. He was born in

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

, the son of a volunteer of 1792. He went to Paris at an early age and obtained work as a sculptor on the church of the Madeleine, but his passion for the stage soon led him to join a strolling company of comedians. Finally chance gave him an opportunity to show his talents, and at the Porte Saint Martin he became the popular interpreter of romantic drama of the type popularized by

Alexandre Dumas, père Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

. One of his greatest successes was as

Benvenuto Cellini Benvenuto Cellini (, ; 3 November 150013 February 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the ''Cellini Salt Cellar'', the sculpture of ''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'', and his autobiography ...

, in which he displayed his ability both as an actor and as a sculptor, really modelling before the eyes of the audience a statue of Hebe. He sent a number of statuettes to the various exhibitions, notably one of Gilbert Louis Duprez as

William Tell William Tell (, ; ; ; ) is a legendary folk hero of Switzerland. He is known for shooting an apple off his son's head. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albrecht Gessler, ...

. Mélingue's wife, Théodorine Thiesset (1813–1886), was the actress selected by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

to create the part of

Guanhumara Guinevere ( ; ; , ), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First mentioned in literature in the early 12th cent ...

Burgraves Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from , ), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especially a royal or episcopal castle, and its territory called a ''Burgraviate'' or ''Burgra ...

at the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

, where she remained ten years. He created the part of D'Artagnan in ''The Youth of The Musketeers'' and ''The Musketeer'' (a dramatization of ''20 Years After'' by Dumas) and also the part of Lagardere in Feval and Anciet-Bourgeois's ''Hunchback''.See character lists for these plays. For Dumas his ''Complete Works''; for Le Bossu ''Librairie de Michel Levy Freres'' (1862).

References

External links and reference

* * Dumas, ''Une Vie d'artiste; Aventures et tribulations d'un comédien'' (1854).
Étienne Mélingue caricature
1807 births 1875 deaths Artists from Caen French male stage actors 19th-century French sculptors French male sculptors 19th-century French male actors 19th-century French male artists Actors from Caen {{france-stage-actor-stub