Marie Cantacuzène (20 July 1820 – 29 August 1898) was a Romanian princess and

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, 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 ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

, and wife of the painter

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (14 December 1824 – 24 October 1898) was a French painter known for his mural painting, who came to be known as "the painter for France". He became the co-founder and president of the Société Nationale des Beau ...

Biography

Marie Cantacuzène was the eldest of the three children of Prince Nicholas Cantacuzène and Princess Pulcheria Sturdza. She received a Catholic education, and was fluent in French. At age 16 in 1836, she married Gheorghe Stratulat, a

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were s ...

, but the couple quickly separated. She then married her cousin, Alexandru Cantacuzino, who served as a minister in Romania. They separated, but never divorced. She was close friends with

Nicolae Bălcescu Nicolae Bălcescu () (29 June 181929 November 1852) was a Romanian Wallachian soldier, historian, journalist, and leader of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution. Early life Born in Bucharest to a family of low-ranking nobility, he used his mother's ...

and

Vasile Alecsandri Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanians, Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavian Revolution of 1848, Moldavia and Wallachian Re ...

. From 1850, Cantacuzène lived with her father in

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

and

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Sp ...

. In 1854, her brother introduced her to

Théodore Chassériau Théodore Chassériau (September 20, 1819 – October 8, 1856) was a Dominican-born French Romantic painter noted for his portraits, historical and religious paintings, allegorical murals, and Orientalist images inspired by his travels to Alger ...

, with whom she had a tumultuous relationship in the two years prior to painter's death. Cantacuzène met Pierre Puvis de Chavannes at the Chassériau workshop, and the couple were in a relationship from 1856. She was a frequent model for him, featuring in a number of his paintings and sketches. They maintained their relationship for 40 years, finally marrying on 21 July 1898, just before their deaths.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cantacuzène, Marie 1820 births 1898 deaths People from Suceava County Marie Romanian artists' models Spouses of politicians Romanian princesses Romanian emigrants to France 19th-century Romanian women