Ellen Andrée (born Hélène Marie André; 7 March 1856 – 9 December 1933Acte de décès n° 1216 (vue 17/24).
Archives en ligne de la Ville de Paris, état-civil du 9ème arrondissement, registre des décès de 1933.) was a French actress and

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

for

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French Modernism, modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism (art movement), R ...

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints, and drawings. Degas is e ...

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; ; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French people, French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionism, Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially femininity, fe ...

and other artists.

Early life

Ellen Andrée was born in 1856 on the rue Geoffrey-Marie in Paris. She was daughter of a military officer and his wife, a department store clerk. Andrée originally intended to become a primary school teacher, but began modeling in the 1870s as a teenager in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

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Career

Modeling

One of her first, and among the most famous, modeling jobs was posing for Degas's ''

L'Absinthe (English: ''The Absinthe Drinker'' or ''Glass of Absinthe'') is a painting by Edgar Degas, painted between 1875 and 1876. Its original title was , a name often used today. Other early titles were ''A sketch of a French Café'' and ''Figures at ...

'' or ''The Absinthe Drinker'' (1875-76). This painting sparked great controversy as it conveyed a strong sense of isolation, making it a haunting depiction of Parisian modernity. In 1878 Andrée modeled for the nude courtesan Marie in ''Rolla'', a similarly scandalous painting by

Henri Gervex Henri Gervex (10 December 1852 – 7 June 1929) was a French painter who studied painting under Alexandre Cabanel, Pierre-Nicolas Brisset, and Eugène Fromentin. Biography Early years He was the son of Joséphine Peltier and Félix Nicolas Gerve ...

, that was based on a poem by

Alfred de Musset Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...

. Andrée continued to model for Degas and he depicted her in an 1879 print. Andrée was depicted in Renoir's 1880 painting the '' Luncheon of the Boating Party'' along with fellow actress Jeanne Samary. While working as a model, she was discovered by the actor Baron Bouquin de Lassouche, star of the Impressionist spoof ''La Cigale.''

Theater

Andrée became an actress in the

Naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

style of theatre, in which the purpose was to give a near perfect view of real scenes and not to rely on the audience's imagination. In 1877 she made her stage debut at the age of 21 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal when she appeared in the comedy, ''La Chaste Suzanne'' by Paul Ferrier. In the early 1880s Andrée gave up modeling and devoted herself fully to acting. She acted for several decades, appearing in plays and comedies such as those by

Sacha Guitry Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry (; 21 February 188524 July 1957) was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre (aesthetic), boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French ac ...

and Georges Courteline. By 1901 Andrée was given leading roles in André Antoine's

Théâtre Libre The Théâtre Libre (; "Free Theatre") was a theatre company that operated from 1887 to 1896 in Paris, France. Origins and History Théâtre Libre was founded on 30 March 1887 by André Antoine (actor), André Antoine. The primary goal of the ...

for the adaptation of '' Poil de Carotte.''

Personal life

After an active career, including travel to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, she married Henri-Julien Dumont, an impressionist painter, and settled down in the Paris suburb Ville-d' Avray. Andrée occupied a space at the intersection of high culture and bohemian life, interacting with artists, actors, writers, poets, and intellectuals.

Bibliography

* Jean Sutherland Boggs: ''Degas''. Ausstellungskatalog Paris, Ottawa, New York, Réunion des musées nationaux, Paris 1988, . * Françoise Cachin: ''Manet''. DuMont, Köln 1991 * John Collins: ''Ellen Andrée'' in Berk Jiminez: ''Dictionary of Artists' Models''. Fitzroy Dearborn, Chicago 2001, . * Bernard Denvir: ''The chronicle of Impressionism''. Thames and Hudson, London 1993, . * Boggs, J. S., Degas, E., & Galeries nationales du Grand Palais. (1988). ''Degas'' (pp286) . Metropolitan Museum of Art. 28 * "Ellen-Andrée". ''Les Archives du Spectacle'' (in French). 1856-03-07. Retrieved 2025-02-22. * "Ellen Andrée (1856-1933)". ''data.bnf.fr''. Retrieved 2025-02-22 * Hagen, R., Hagen, R. (2003). ''What Great Paintings Say'' (pp 444) . Germany: Taschen. * Jiminez, J. B. (2013). ''Dictionary of Artists' Models'' (pp 42-46). Taylor & Francis * MIGULSKI, BOGDAN (2025-01-29). "Ellen Andrée: Model for Degas and Manet". Retrieved 2025-02-22. * Benoît Noël, Jean Hournon: ''Parisiana : la capitale des peintres au XIXe siècle''. Presses Franciliennes, Paris 2006, . * The Pretty Women of Paris: Their Names and Addresses, Qualities and Faults, Being a Complete Directory, Or, Guide to Pleasure for Visitors to the Gay City. (1883). * Theodore Reff: ''Manet and modern Paris''. National Gallery of Art, Washington und University of Chicago Press, Chicago und London 1982, . * Maryanne Stevens, Colin B. Bailey, Stephane Guegan: ''Manet, portraying life'', Ausstellungskatalog Toledo Museum of Art und Royal Academy of Arts 2012–13, Royal Academy of Arts, London 2012, . * Terry W. Strieter: ''Nineteenth-century European art''. Aldwych Press, London 1999, . * Adolphe Tabarant: ''Manet et ses oeuvres''. Gallimard, Paris 1947.

References

External links

Verzeichnis der Bühnenrollen mit Ellen Andrée (Auswahl)

''Rolla''
1856 births 1925 deaths 19th-century French actresses Actresses from Paris French artists' models French stage actresses {{Model-stub