urban archaeology: sleeping beauty’s paris apartment discovered
Photo: GETTY
hi guys! i just had to post this. for me it really stirs the imagination. enjoy!
Parisian flat containing €2.1 million painting lay untouched for 70 years
For 70 years the Parisian apartment had been left uninhabited, under lock and key, the rent faithfully paid but no hint of what was inside
By Henry Samuel in Paris
Published: 7:49PM, 04 Oct 2010
Behind the door, under a thick layer of dusk lay a treasure trove of turn-of-the-century objects including a painting by the 19th century Italian artist Giovanni Boldini.
The woman who owned the flat had left for the south of France before the Second World War and never returned.
But when she died recently aged 91, experts were tasked with drawing up an inventory of her possessions and homed in on the flat near the Trinité church in Paris between the Pigalle red light district and Opera.
Entering the untouched, cobweb-filled flat in Paris’ 9th arrondissement, one expert said it was like stumbling into the castle of Sleeping Beauty, where time had stood still since 1900.
“There was a smell of old dust,” said Olivier Choppin-Janvry, who made the discovery. Walking under high wooden ceilings, past an old wood stove and stone sink in the kitchen, he spotted a stuffed ostrich and a Mickey Mouse toy dating from before the war, as well as an exquisite dressing table.
Photo: GETTY
But he said his heart missed a beat when he caught sight of a stunning tableau of a woman in a pink muslin evening dress.
The painting was by Boldini and the subject a beautiful Frenchwoman who turned out to be the artist’s former muse and whose granddaughter it was who had left the flat uninhabited for more than half a century.
Giovanni Boldini
The muse was Marthe de Florian, an actress with a long list of ardent admirers, whose fervent love letters she kept wrapped neatly in ribbon and were still on the premises. Among the admirers was the 72nd prime minister of France, George Clemenceau, but also Boldini.
The expert had a hunch the painting was by Boldini, but could find no record of the painting. “No reference book dedicated to Boldini mentioned the tableau, which was never exhibited,” said Marc Ottavi, the art specialist he consulted about the work.
When Mr Choppin-Janvry found a visiting card with a scribbled love note from Boldini, he knew he had struck gold. “We had the link and I was sure at that moment that it was indeed a very fine Boldini”.
He finally found a reference to the work in a book by the artist’s widow, which said it was painted in 1898 when Miss de Florian was 24.
The starting price for the painting was €300,000 but it rocketed as ten bidders vyed for the historic work. Finally it went under the hammer for €2.1 million, a world record for the artist.
“It was a magic moment. One could see that the buyer loved the painting; he paid the price of passion,” said Mr Ottavi.
cityfarmer replied:
I JUST read this at paris atelier … wow!!!!
what a story
hugs darling
October 7, 2010 at 2:23 am. Permalink.
Wayne replied:
Wow, I could have squatted here rent free for all that time,
.
September 21, 2011 at 8:47 pm. Permalink.
Emma G replied:
Way to think! So, so true. Instead people are profiteering off of this intimate family artifact. Where is that money going? Certainly not to the dead owner or the dead painter.
Oh, society.
September 30, 2011 at 1:37 pm. Permalink.
Splendid Sass replied:
Oh. My. Goodness. I would love to go into this apartment and see everything. Such lovely things.
Thank you for sharing this!
Teresa
October 7, 2010 at 2:27 am. Permalink.
Karen Sugarman replied:
What a haunting and beautiful story. I suspect the gorgeous Boldini painting was not the only lovely item left behind.
October 7, 2010 at 2:28 am. Permalink.
Anette replied:
This is such a romantic and beautiful story. I wonder why she never returned though…
October 7, 2010 at 2:53 am. Permalink.
Helena replied:
You have to remember, France after the war was very different, as any country under occupation would be. I would imagine that for some people it was impossible to imagine a city so drastically different from the city they left, that to return was an impossibility.
September 19, 2011 at 4:28 am. Permalink.
magar replied:
She put it off… until tomorrow…
November 3, 2011 at 7:45 pm. Permalink.
Judith replied:
Lol! I just read your comment and then popped over to read the post! We are on the same wave length! Oops! What a romantic story! Can you just imagine the incredible objects left there!?! I wonder if there were jewels or clothing and did you see all of the other art. Le sigh!!! I was more interested in trying to see all of the little details in the photo than anything else. The falling wallpaper and those curtains! I love that there is still magic in this world.
Xoxo
Judith~
October 7, 2010 at 2:54 am. Permalink.
LI2PHX replied:
The Apartment is Absolutely perfect. Miss de Florian must have really wanted to perserve Very Happy Time in her young life. I have family that lived in Europe during WWII.
July 1, 2011 at 4:40 pm. Permalink.
Chic and Charming replied:
What an amazing story, like a fairy tale! It would have been so amazing to be the guys who got to catalog the apartment.
October 7, 2010 at 3:07 am. Permalink.
Nita@ModVintageLife replied:
Fascinating! Don’t you wish it could all be left as is? I’d love to come peak in that room left for all those years. They should just rope it off with fancy velvet ropes and let people come view it like art in a museum.
October 7, 2010 at 3:12 am. Permalink.
Alessio replied:
So true. I was thinking exactly the same… But, this is a greedy world… :-/
September 16, 2011 at 12:50 am. Permalink.
Tanya replied:
What an amazing story. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
October 7, 2010 at 4:27 am. Permalink.
Gypsy Purple-Chamara replied:
What an amazing story!!! Thanx for sharing!!!
October 7, 2010 at 5:51 am. Permalink.
Linda replied:
I would love to have been the first one through the door. I think there are many places like this, left behind and the family just leaves empty because someone doesn’t want to sell it-Napoleonic laws tend to keep things from being sold easily.
October 7, 2010 at 6:21 am. Permalink.
Bonnie replied:
I’m totally fascinated by stories like this of long lost treasures! Just look at the beautiful dress she is wearing! Do you think she is sitting on a chaise or on the edge of a bed? I found more beautiful paintings by Giovanni Boldini on the blog Scala Regia…
http://scalaregia.blogspot.com/2009/02/giovanni-boldini.html. Apparently he was friends with Edgar Degas. And here… http://www.giovanniboldini.org/
Thank you for sharing your discovery!
October 7, 2010 at 6:22 am. Permalink.
Fabulously French replied:
Wow – wish that I could make a discovery like this. I dream of the day that I come across an old house that has been closed for years packed full of lovely French “goodies”.
Leeann x
October 7, 2010 at 7:10 am. Permalink.
vicki replied:
I LOOOOVE this! Thanks for sharing..my imagination has been stirred and my heart is racing. Just the thought that there could be many more French apartments and countryside chateaus that are abandoned…
October 7, 2010 at 10:50 am. Permalink.
kath replied:
Thank you so much for posting this. It just made me sigh and believe more in Fairy Tales. How romantic and amazing. I hope someone documented this in great detail. It would probably make a lovely book…
October 7, 2010 at 11:22 am. Permalink.
Vicki Archer replied:
Hello Claudia….What a fantastic story…I wish it could be kept as is…such a fabulous time capsule. I hope all is great in your world, xv.
October 7, 2010 at 12:30 pm. Permalink.
Lauren replied:
I am thrilled you have posted on this! It is amazing and you are the first site I have found who has the Ostrich image!!
October 7, 2010 at 12:32 pm. Permalink.
Acquired Objects replied:
OMG I love it! How exciting to stumble upon such a time capsule. I would have given anything to have been able to troll through that place too. Thank you for such an amazing post!
October 7, 2010 at 1:25 pm. Permalink.
Julienne replied:
How exciting to have been there! But that carpet, the mirror, the books I could look at that room for hours. Imagine it just sitting there for all those years, the mind boggles!!! A really lovely post.
October 7, 2010 at 1:30 pm. Permalink.
liza replied:
I have a recurring dream like this, but it’s my apartment and I finally remember to go there after decades. Really odd, but curiously satisfying dreams.
Who paid the rent on the flat? That, to me, is the oddest part. Who would keep paying, but never visit, or clean it out?
I adore Boldini.
Thanks for this, Claudia.
October 7, 2010 at 2:14 pm. Permalink.
Beadboard UpCountry replied:
OMG! Just look at the way her dress is portrayed by the artist!!! It looks like incandescent gossamer….She is gorgeous!!!! To think that this stuff still happens is amazing!!!!!!!!!Thanks Claudia!!!
October 7, 2010 at 2:47 pm. Permalink.
Leslie replied:
A magical, fantasy-inspiring post. Thank you.
October 7, 2010 at 3:04 pm. Permalink.
Dianne replied:
How absolutely amazing ~ imagine walking into that appartment layered in dust and then finding this amazing painting~ it’s almost like a fairy-tale. I love the painting it is so… very exquisite! i am still sitting here utterly bewildered after reading this post.
~Dianne~
October 7, 2010 at 9:36 pm. Permalink.
Elizabeth replied:
I wan to know more about Mrs. de Florian. This story is marvelous.
October 7, 2010 at 11:38 pm. Permalink.
beverley christenson replied:
Claudia,
this is what makes you so different, the romance the intriuge. the glamour, you see it in all the perfect
imperfections of life.
I can even see this ability growing over the years,go for it girl.
The world needs more stories to uplift our hearts,thank you for this post love Bev.
October 7, 2010 at 11:49 pm. Permalink.
lancerika replied:
Absolutely breathtaking!
I’m at a loss for words..
truly a relic from a bygone age..a treasure.
October 8, 2010 at 3:53 am. Permalink.
This is just magic! | The musings of Dahlia Duroe replied:
[...] http://parisapartment.wordpress.com/2010/10/07/urban-archaeology-sleeping-beautys-paris-apartment-di… [...]
October 8, 2010 at 8:24 am. Permalink.
Eric Aeschliman replied:
WOW! I wish I could find a floor plan of the apartment! One article described it as “Large,” and living in Paris ain’t cheap! … and what more could be said about the beautiful, mysterious, romantic story and the wonderful treasures left behind by Madam de Florian!
October 8, 2010 at 9:02 am. Permalink.
Luna Campbell replied:
Wow – how beautiful. What an amazing find, but so sad that the woman didn’t ever return to live there. She must have had a nice life in the south of France…
Luna Loves…
October 8, 2010 at 9:59 am. Permalink.
sheila replied:
this story has to have more detail….surely someone will publish a book showing this lovely place and follow up on the who, where, why ….so so romantic….gives me hope there is still magic out there
October 8, 2010 at 1:30 pm. Permalink.
katie kirby replied:
It’s so beautiful! The story and the images!!!
October 8, 2010 at 4:45 pm. Permalink.
le petit cabinet de curiosites replied:
I love this story. I wish I would have been the 1st one to open the door .
They should make a movie
October 8, 2010 at 8:37 pm. Permalink.
Lonni replied:
Just sad, how you can take such a amazing story and turn it into money
October 9, 2010 at 2:03 pm. Permalink.
Diane replied:
What a wonderful story! I especially loved the Clemenceau connection and that all those letters survived. A wonderful project for someone to edit and publish – think of the fabulous details of life during those times.
October 9, 2010 at 8:25 pm. Permalink.
Susan replied:
Oh, this conjures memories… my parents were packrats on a pretty grand scale. After their deaths it took me three years to sort through their belongings and those of my mother’s parents. There was everything that had ever passed through my life as well as theirs– every drawing I’d created as a child, every toy (both mine and hers), love letters written before their marriage while my father was stationed in Korea. Among the treasures I found were a calendar where my mother had noted the day she met the boy who would become my father, sketches she made of him while they were in high school, paintings of my grandmother and sketches of me at two days old. She must have been sketching in her hospital bed.
October 10, 2010 at 1:27 am. Permalink.
Dermott Banana replied:
The dates in this story are all wrong.
She was 24 in 1898, so she was born around 1878.
Yet she died 112 years after she was 24, at the age of 91?
The story says the room was locked away for 70 years. But was that starting in 1900, like the article says, and this room was discovered in 1970?
Or was it locked away when she went into exile following the German occupation in 1940, and it’s just been discovered 70 years later?
Something doesn’t smell right, and it’s not 70-year-old dust.
October 11, 2010 at 6:44 am. Permalink.
Magnus Holmgren replied:
The artist’s muse and the subject of the painting was her grandmother, “whose granddaughter it was who had left the flat uninhabited”.
One expert said it was *like* time had stood still since 1900, which isn’t a statement of fact as to when the apartment was abandoned.
October 19, 2010 at 9:13 am. Permalink.
Sarah @ Natural History replied:
What a wonderful, wonderful story. And to think that all of those treasures had been lying undisturbed for so many years…
A Caravaggio was discovered in my own native Dublin a few years ago in a Jesuit dining room, quite by chance – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Taking_of_Christ_%28Caravaggio%29
October 11, 2010 at 10:38 am. Permalink.
BarbG replied:
Thanks for revealing this beautiful apartment. Many
treasures under the dust.
October 11, 2010 at 1:41 pm. Permalink.
Eddie Ross replied:
Such a great post! Thanks for sharing!!
E+J
October 11, 2010 at 6:53 pm. Permalink.
The Shutter replied:
Great post. Love your site, I’ll be back.
October 11, 2010 at 8:01 pm. Permalink.
Ashley replied:
This is absolutely AMAZING!! This story just really makes my day xoxoxo
October 11, 2010 at 11:34 pm. Permalink.
CultureChoc2010 replied:
WOW!
October 12, 2010 at 12:32 am. Permalink.
Sarah @ Maison Boheme replied:
Oh this is marvelous! What a treasure trove. Thanks for posting… you never cease to delight me!
October 14, 2010 at 5:17 am. Permalink.
Våning i Paris var låst i 70 år « Fantastic Franks Blogg replied:
[...] måste läsa hela storyn på Paris Atelier eller Paris Appartement – eller [...]
October 14, 2010 at 7:03 am. Permalink.
Gee replied:
This sounds almost too good to be true! What a wonderful story of finding such wonderful treasures held as if in a time capsule.
October 24, 2010 at 7:25 pm. Permalink.
Jade replied:
Just magical…I wonder why she didn’t go back to the apartment; maybe a lost love was involved and yet the place still held her heart?
:) Jade
October 27, 2010 at 12:03 am. Permalink.
Reyna replied:
Wow….enchanting! Can you imagine? Just wow! It sounds like something from a fairytale!
October 28, 2010 at 3:34 am. Permalink.
Malin replied:
Hello Claudia, what a story! I’m gonna post this on my blog (with links to you!) Love your blog by the way
check out mine!
October 29, 2010 at 2:29 pm. Permalink.
Sleeping Beauty! « Nordic Rooms replied:
[...] read the whole of this incredible story go to parisapartment. who has the full [...]
November 11, 2010 at 9:47 pm. Permalink.
how to get to sleep replied:
Wow, nice! I want to go to there
November 27, 2010 at 8:12 pm. Permalink.
coquine replied:
Fantastic story, hope u have more like this one
March 2, 2011 at 12:44 pm. Permalink.
Quinton Quesnel replied:
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April 18, 2011 at 12:20 pm. Permalink.
photomfa replied:
what an incredible find. The Mickey Mouse stuffed animal is pretty awesome.
May 15, 2011 at 2:26 pm. Permalink.
ihath replied:
what a story
June 15, 2011 at 3:02 pm. Permalink.
Carla Wolf replied:
What an amazingly romantic story…
September 14, 2011 at 3:56 am. Permalink.
christine ashby replied:
I would have love to be the first one to walk into that apartment. So many treasures and history. Interesting that the woman never bothered to go back considering how much she had left behind. Art historians are salivating.
September 14, 2011 at 5:07 pm. Permalink.
MB replied:
Hello: As to the math, the apartment belonged to the granddaughter of Marthe de Florian. The granddaughter must have inherited the portrait of her grandmother, as well as the items of provenance. Perhaps it was her grandmother’s whole apartment’s content that she inherited, and things were left untouched far longer than just WWII. – M
September 15, 2011 at 4:51 pm. Permalink.
Bea of Beabloguistan replied:
It’s amazing, and so romantic… thanks for this discovery !
September 16, 2011 at 9:05 am. Permalink.
Evgeniya replied:
Ah, I wish I could have been the one to walk in there first! It’s magestic, I don’t understand why the lady never went back to this treasure alcove.
September 18, 2011 at 7:41 pm. Permalink.
Hailee Elizabeth Johnston replied:
I can’t get over the stuffed ostrich.
September 19, 2011 at 7:57 am. Permalink.
Mind Sieve 9/19/11 « Gloria Oliver replied:
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September 19, 2011 at 11:05 am. Permalink.
J.Vu replied:
That money better have been put to a good cause…
September 20, 2011 at 1:24 am. Permalink.
Cheryl S. replied:
“That money better have been put to a good cause”….or what?
You sound like a socialist.
Just enjoy the post without getting political and ruining it for others.
December 13, 2011 at 4:14 pm. Permalink.
Christina replied:
Wow! This just made Paris even more romantic, mysterious, and exciting for me! Thanks for sharing :)
September 20, 2011 at 2:30 pm. Permalink.
Lunneth replied:
I live near Paris and I just want to say: why it’s not me?
September 22, 2011 at 7:54 pm. Permalink.
Heaps Cool Stuff | Fat Aus replied:
[...] This apartment in Paris was left untouched for 70 years! The woman who owned it left for the South of France after WWII and never returned but paid rent up until she died last year. Inside the apartment was a painting worth millions of dollars! [...]
September 25, 2011 at 6:01 am. Permalink.
Mary Griswold replied:
Fairy tales really do come true for some people, who have left behind magical mementos from their lives. Wonderful true story!
October 2, 2011 at 2:12 pm. Permalink.
thing i like thursday. - Niotillfem replied:
[...] sleeping beauty’s paris apartment discovered. [...]
October 13, 2011 at 4:01 pm. Permalink.
Sara replied:
Oh my God, it’s like a dream. Absolutely beautiful!
October 13, 2011 at 8:06 pm. Permalink.
Sleeping Beauty’s Paris Apartment « coquette in paris replied:
[...] http://parisapartment.wordpress.com/2010/10/07/urban-archaeology-sleeping-beautys-paris-apartment-di… [...]
November 3, 2011 at 8:25 pm. Permalink.
Jon replied:
SO what you are saying is that all these items were kept safe by her until she died, then everyone went in a ransacked her possessions…I hope the family got the money at least. If I were her I would be haunting some people.
November 18, 2011 at 7:57 pm. Permalink.
The Paris Apartment replied:
Well at least they got photos of the place. What should they do? Keep it as a museum?
November 18, 2011 at 8:59 pm. Permalink.
rencontre paris replied:
je passe boire le cafe quand je passe a paris !
November 25, 2011 at 5:56 pm. Permalink.
Robert replied:
There is a certain key phrase in the article that makes this a bit less romantic.
“Mrs de Florian, a ‘demimondaine’ never returned to her Paris flat after the war and died at the age of 91 in 2010.”
The key word here is “demimondaine” which carries roughly the same meaning as courtesan or a high-class prostitute.
December 4, 2011 at 4:03 am. Permalink.
hellolovely replied:
Eh, Gigi was still a romantic story, and she was a demimondaine. Sure, in reality, I’m sure it wasn’t really romantic because of that, although she may also have just been someone’s mistress (which fits into the definition of the word). I bet there’s quite a story there, though, if she left suddenly and never returned.
January 12, 2012 at 1:34 pm. Permalink.
The Paris Apartment replied:
Oh that is a bit torrid and maybe not even accurate. I wonder what prompted the use of that word? Who was she exactly with everything from Mickey Mouse to taxidermy in the apartment?!
December 4, 2011 at 3:48 pm. Permalink.
Robert replied:
I have done some more digging. Seems She was an actress as well as a high-level prostitute.
And I have not been able to dig up any information on the type of acting. Ideally, the best person to converse with would have been the now deceased grand-daughter who was paying the rent on the flat. There has also been no mention that I have seen to indicate any surviving family members.
Further digging suggests that Boldini did not have any children either since he did not marry until he was 86. No mention of any offspring in any of the articles that I have read so far.
The love letters that are mentioned in the above article could be handy in determining more of the story. The love letters seem to have been of a racy nature as mentioned by the French Press.
The flat itself is located near the then red-light district of Pigalle. The grand-daughter lived in the same flat until she fled to the south of France just before the war. (information provided by the Luxe Chronicles)
There were calling cards from senior statesmen within the flat, and according to the article I have read on http://www.mysinchew.com/node/46082, she hosted many lovers within the flat.
December 4, 2011 at 5:34 pm. Permalink.
The Paris Apartment replied:
Wow that is really interesting stuff! Fascinating! Funny that I have not seen a thing since the article was written either about her or what happened to the contents of the apartment. I have a feeling there’s a story there.
Maybe you’re the person to uncover it?
Thank you so much for this, it’s really juicy and gets my imagination going. Please let me know if you pursue this any further!
December 5, 2011 at 3:47 pm. Permalink.
Inspiration Dictates…. | A BOHEMIAN GIRL replied:
[...] I ran across an article on The Paris Apartment website and my romantic imagination was immediately sparked. The writer wrote of a Parisian [...]
December 7, 2011 at 1:23 pm. Permalink.
Off-topic klo 06:00-24:00 - Sivu 1903 replied:
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December 29, 2011 at 6:52 pm. Permalink.
paris apartment replied:
The information available here is very great. Keep the flow going on.
February 23, 2012 at 8:33 am. Permalink.