Portrait of Ida Saint-Elme « la Contemporaine »

Fine Arts

Inventory number
2019.7.6.2.FA.GR.1828.FR
Description
Drawing portrait of a woman known as Ida Saint-Elme (1778-1845), “the Contemporary”, born Maria Johanna Elselina VERSFELT, a Dutch adventurer, courtesan and writer of "Mémoires d'une contemporaine, ou Souvenirs d'une femme sur les principaux personnages de la République, du Consulat, de l'Empire, etc ..." (Memories of a contemporary, or Memories of a woman on the main characters of the Republic, the Consulate, the Empire..), appeared in 1827-1828 in 8 volumes.

Despite the will displayed by the partisans of the French Restoration period to impose a modest oblivion on the Revolution and the Empire, it only took a few years for the witnesses of the imperial period, first the soldiers, the generals and Napoleon BONAPARTE himself, to take up the pen and write down their memories of the Napoleonic epic.

In 1819, the publication of "Memoirs of General Sophie Durand", the former chambermaid of Empress Marie-Louise, launched the fashion for the testimony of "secondary" characters: servants, secretaries, courtiers. They too had things to tell, just as much - if not more - than ministers, princes or marshals.

Even before the end of the Restoration and the return to grace of Napoleon under the July Monarchy, the flood of publications became inexhaustible. Public curiosity was strong, but supply soon outpaced demand. Many "dyers", or short week writers, reworked or lengthened the manuscripts proposed by witnesses of the imperial time. The same goes for "Memories of a Contemporary": the supposed author, the adventurer Ida de Saint-Elme, had only given her name to a work on which several contributors probably lent their hands.
Materials
Graphite on paper
Glass
Wood frame
Origin
1828 France
Dimensions
Length : 18 cm
Height : 20.5 cm