Alfred D'Orsay
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Alfred Guillaume Gabriel Grimod d'Orsay, comte d'Orsay (4 September 18014 August 1852) was a French amateur artist,
dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance and personal grooming, refined language and leisurely hobbies. A dandy could be a self-made man both in person and ''persona'', who emulated the aristocratic style of l ...
, and man of fashion in the early- to mid-19th century.


Biography

He was born in Paris, the second son of Albert Gaspard Grimaud, Comte d'Orsay, a
Bonapartist Bonapartism () is the political ideology supervening from Napoleon Bonaparte and his followers and successors. The term was used in the narrow sense to refer to people who hoped to restore the House of Bonaparte and its style of government. In ...
general. His mother was Baroness Eleonore von Franquemont, an illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Württemberg and the Italian adventuress Anne Franchi. His elder brother died in infancy. In 1821, he entered the French army of the restored Bourbon monarchy (against his own Bonapartist tendencies), attending the lavish coronation of
George IV of the United Kingdom George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, ...
in London that year (staying until 1822) and serving as a
Garde du Corps A ''Garde du Corps'' (French for lifeguard (military), lifeguard) is a military unit formed of Royal Guard, guards. A ''Garde du corps du roi, Garde du Corps'' was first established in France in 1445. From the 17th century onwards, the term was us ...
of
Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...
. While in London he formed an acquaintance with
Charles Gardiner, 1st Earl of Blessington Charles John Gardiner, 1st Earl of Blessington (1782 – 25 May 1829) was an Irish earl best known for his marriage to Margaret Farmer (née Power), whom he married at St Mary's, Bryanston Square, London, on 16 February 1818 (only four months ...
and Marguerite, Countess of Blessington, which quickly ripened into intimacy. Scholars have speculated both that the Countess and d'Orsay had an affair, and that the infatuation was purely between the Earl and d'Orsay. While contemporaries remarked on the young man's effeminacy, the evidence for either relationship is inconclusive. The following year the couple visited d'Orsay at Valence on the Rhone, and at the invitation of the earl he accompanied the party on their tour through Italy. In the spring of 1823, he met
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
at
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
, and the published correspondence of the poet at this period contains numerous references to d'Orsay's gifts and accomplishments, and to his peculiar relationship to the 1st Earl of Blessington and
Countess of Blessington Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington (née Power; 1 September 1789 – 4 June 1849), was an Irish novelist, journalist, and literary hostess.''The Feminist Companion to Literature in English'', eds Virginia Blain, Patricia Clements and ...
. A diary which d'Orsay had kept during his visit to London in 1821–1822 was submitted to Byron's inspection, and was much praised by him for the knowledge of men and manners and the keen faculty of observation it displayed. He previously met Lord and Lady Blessington in 1822 and was romantically interested in Lady Blessington. Perhaps to divert D’Orsay's attention from his wife, Lord Blessington wrote a will leaving his Irish property to one of his daughters, should either marry Count D’Orsay. He eventually chose to marry Lady Harriet Gardiner with the promise of the estate. On 1 December 1827, Count d'Orsay married Lady Harriet Gardiner, a girl of fifteen, the daughter of Lord Blessington by his previous wife. The union, if it rendered his connection with the Blessington family less ostensibly equivocal than before, was in other respects an unhappy one, and a legal separation took place in 1838, at which Lady Harriet paid over £100,000 to his creditors (though even this did not cover all his debts) in exchange for d'Orsay giving up all claims to the Blessington estate. After the death of Lord Blessington, which occurred in 1829, the widowed countess returned to England, accompanied by d'Orsay, and her home, first at Seamore Place, then at
Gore House Gore House, built in the 1750s, with its grounds was in Middlesex, England in a large exclave of St Margaret Westminster, Kensington Gore. Until its west wing soon became Grove House it was set apart from the east end of a row of 18th-century ...
, soon became a resort of the fashionable literary and artistic society of London, which found an equal attraction in host and in hostess. The count's charming manner, brilliant wit, and artistic faculty were accompanied by benevolent moral qualities, which endeared him to all his associates. His skill as a painter and sculptor was shown in numerous portraits and statuettes representing his friends, which were marked by great vigour and truthfulness, if wanting in the finish that can only be reached by persistent discipline. It was at Gore House that d'Orsay met
Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...
and
Edward Bulwer-Lytton Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (; 25 May 1803 – 18 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secr ...
, themselves young men of fashion who dabbled in the arts. D'Orsay and Disraeli were good friends in the 1830s–to the point that Disraeli asked d'Orsay to be his second, when it appeared that Disraeli would fight a duel with
Morgan O'Connell Morgan O'Connell (31 October 1804 – 20 January 1885), soldier, politician and son of Daniel O'Connell, ''the Liberator of Ireland ''. He served in the Irish South American legion and the Austrian army. He was MP for Meath from 1832 until 1840 ...
, the son of Irish agitator
Daniel O'Connell Daniel(I) O’Connell (; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilisation of Catholic Irelan ...
. D'Orsay declined, on the grounds of being a foreigner, and Disraeli went with Henry Baillie, a mutual friend. The character of Count Alcibiades de Mirabel in Disraeli's novel ''
Henrietta Temple ''Henrietta Temple'' is the ninth novel written by Benjamin Disraeli, who would later become a Prime Minister of Britain. Background Disraeli wrote the first volume of ''Henrietta Temple'' in 1833 at the start of his affair with Henrietta Syke ...
'' was modeled on d'Orsay, to whom the book was dedicated. Count d'Orsay had been from his youth a zealous
Bonapartist Bonapartism () is the political ideology supervening from Napoleon Bonaparte and his followers and successors. The term was used in the narrow sense to refer to people who hoped to restore the House of Bonaparte and its style of government. In ...
, and one of the most frequent guests at Gore House was Prince
Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
. In 1849 the count went bankrupt, and the establishment at Gore House being broken up, he went to Paris. Lady Blessington sold almost all her possessions and followed him there, but died a few weeks after her arrival, leaving him heartbroken. He endeavoured to provide for himself by painting portraits. He was deep in the counsels of the prince-president (who had also returned to Paris from exile, and been elected president the year before d'Orsay arrived), but relations between them were less cordial after Louis-Napoléon's 1851 ''coup d'état'' (the French Parliament is dissolved), of which the count had expressed his strong disapproval. Reluctant to entrust d'Orsay with any affairs of state, prince-president Louis-Napoleon finally offered him the position of ''surintendant'' of the Beaux-Arts School. Within a few months of the appointment, however, d'Orsay contracted a spinal infection, of which he died on 4 August 1852 in the house of his sister Ida, duchesse de Gramont, at Chambourcy, just a few days after his appointment had been officially announced. He had designed a pyramidal grey stone tomb for Lady Blessington at Chambourcy, and he too was buried in it, with the not yet
Emperor Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
among the mourners at the funeral. File:Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington by Alfred, Count D'Orsay.jpg File:George-Finch-Hatton-11th-Earl-of-Winchilsea after Alfred, Count D'Orsay.jpg File:Joshua William Allen, 6th Viscount Allen.png File:Print (BM 1857,0228.48).jpg File:Print (BM 1907,1018.124).jpg File:Print (BM 1857,0228.44).jpg


Cultural references

Eustace Tilley, the mascot of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' magazine, was based on an engraving of d'Orsay, interpreted by house cartoonist and art director
Rea Irvin Rea Irvin (August 26, 1881 – May 28, 1972) was an American graphic artist and cartoonist. Although never formally credited as such, he served de facto as the first art editor of ''The New Yorker''. He created the Eustace Tilley cover portrait ...
.


Archives

*His correspondence with Disraeli and his wife, and his letters to Lord Lichfield, are held in the
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...
, Oxford. *25 letters from d'Orsay to Charles Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (dated 1851), concerning the publication of newspaper articles in France relating to Abd-el-Kadir and to French politics and literary life in general, are held in the
County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
record office at Ref No. D/Lo/C 7

*His letters to Bulwer-Lytton are held in the Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies centre,
Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a Ford (crossing), ford on ...
.


References

* *W. Teignmouth Shore, D'Orsay, or, The complete dandy (1911) *M. Sadleir, Blessington–D'Orsay: a masquerade (1933) *R. R. Madden, The literary life and correspondence of the countess of Blessington, 3 vols. (1855) *The Times (6, 7, 10 August 1852) *Annual Register (1852)


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Orsay, Alfred d' 1801 births 1852 deaths
Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...
Artists from Paris 19th-century French military personnel 19th-century French painters