26 February 2013

at home with "Belle Dame" Lavalliere

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Eve Lavalliere by Helleu

Everyone begged to paint her-Paul Poiret dressed her- Sarah Bernhardt exalted her-Eve Lavalliere was the most celebrated comedienne of her day in Paris, the Belle Epoque. At the height of her powers she lavishly decorated her Paris home with the help of decorator Jils Garrine.




She was a dark beauty interpreting her roles as if they were her life and would extemporize much to the chagrin of her fellow actors. Sought after by artists, politicians and royals Mme Lavalliere was a capricious sprite and her rooms reflect her sense of living in the moment-in the modern and with soignee.





The most Parisian of Parisiennes-Eve-with the most feminine of names- had her dining room swathed in shade of  gunmetal grey and pink. The walls and ceiling merge with a curving cornice all in the same shade of grey. Slender columnar panels hold basket of fruit in relief-and a pair of them flank the carved console with urns of fruit in abundance-& fully gilded . A painting of Eve's temptation in the garden by fresco painter Janko Varda in shades of deep blues and fresh greens hangs over the elegant console. The room's mood is of the period between Art Nouveau & Deco with chairs covered in a heavy silk rose & sinuous shapes indicative of things to come in the Art Deco movement. The chairs are set about a dining room that is used for conversation as well as dining.

Lavalliere's lavish Dining Room in shades of grey and pink.



Georges Goursat caricature of Mme. Lavallière in 1910 granting an interview, wearing Poiret



Another room in shades of grey, Lavalliere's Salon where she entertained and filled the book case with first editions of contemporary literature. Period French chairs are arranged informally and upholstered in silk shades of violet, while the prune colored curtains are encased in curved moldings that moved around the entire room.






The Bedroom with bath en suite is perhaps the most unique and modern room in the house. Done up by Eve and her designer Garrine in pale shades of blue with ebony woods & hints of mauve. The large bed is made of a ebony and covered head to footboard in a delicate blue. The sleeping area is separated by a single mauve curtain panel and two massive granite columns from the elaborate bath-just beyond. A sunken pool is central in the bath and all the furniture in a bleached sycamore is covered in washable slipcoverings.










The dressing room is ebonized and each door is covered in a mirror. The designer and client have again assembled a interesting mix of furniture periods in the wardrobe's center.


Domergue's portrait of Mme.-the dress she is wearing hangs in to the left of the photograph in her closet.







It's an interesting side note to the soignee of Eve Lavalliere's Paris apartment that as she was not a happy woman. The rest of the story:

 "Gold ran through my hands,I had everything the world could offer, everything I could desire. Nevertheless, I regarded myself as the unhappiest of souls."







read more about EVE here

images from the original article in the November Vogue, 1916 article- written by Pierre Presule

Collages representative of the colours and mood of MME LAVALLIERE-by me.

 

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17 comments:

  1. Merci beaucoup for this absolutely amazing story. I am fascinated and wonder what a different fate she might have had in this time period...and also, where did it all go? All of those beautiful pieces? I hope that some have been saved and are still appreciated somewhere...
    With my Best from Provence,
    Heather

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    1. Lost- the article adds more intrigue to the story and I will post a link to another chapter in the saga too- thanks for reading. pgt

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  2. what a personality, I want to know more....how fascinating. Leaving for Paris this April. Finding a little house with a green door and locking myself inside is very tempting!

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    1. Jennifer-it is tempting indeed. I am adding a link in the comments section about more of her story. pgt

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  3. That dining room must have been something to behold. Must have been the times in which she lived that made her unhappy, that and the possibility of a mental illness. I hope she found happiness in the last part of her life. And, thank you Gaye for your sweet words about Birdie.

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    1. Donna, celebrity-and people seem to change little. I love the dining room too-I tried to add the color collages to give a little sense of the colors in the apartment. pgt

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  4. This is a wonderful post, the rooms are charming.

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    1. merci! Connie. Yes-it would be exciting to see these rooms in their day.

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  5. Little Augury, Thank you for introducing us to the fascinating Eve Lavalliere - she is intriguing and so are you... always with something amazing to show us! Your Lavalliere collages are magnifique, bravissimo! I should add you to my list of "followed" blogs - since I like to see what you're writing about. If I were a join-er I would. Love the way you think.

    Interesting to see the rest of her story... such extremes, but sometimes finding the extremes helps one settle at just the right place. The article is a nice touch - enjoyed reading that Lavalliere was not excessively nostalgic, but focused on the future.

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    1. Toile-thank You for continuing to read. I am checking in to see what you are up to as well. I try to keep it interesting, the collages-I hope add to the sense of the decoration since we have to imagine the color as it might have been. pgt

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  6. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19270327&id=4VlQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=aw8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6348%2C4443326

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  7. Mitch Owens wrote- saying in addition to the Milwaukee Sentinel piece above "In 1967, The New Yorker published an autobiographical work by Edmund Wilson, in which he recalls going to France in 1963 and meeting the daughter/son, whom local villagers said actually was a woman who preferred to dress as a man (which only confuses the issue). Wilson described meeting him originally during WW1 and described him as "a hospitable little gentleman, who was dapperly dressed in brown, and who spoke English with a London accent ... I suspected this host was a woman; she reminded me of Vesta Tilley, the impersonator of English Johnnies ..." The man had, he said, a "mildly pretty" apparent wife. In 1963, Wilson met up with Lavallière's child again and asked if he was "Mlle Lavallière." The man said, "Je suis le fils de Mlle Lavallière—Jean Lavallière." He wrote that he lived in a "low and mean" house, and he described him as "a little old man, with white straight hair and a squarish, rather wooden face." Later he states that Lavallière's daughter was born a hermaphrodite and had an operation when she was 18 that "made her predominately masculine." Her birth certificate was changed, her name was changed, and she married."

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  8. this makes for an even more fascinating story. How has Hollywood not jumped on this? Any books out there?

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  9. Haunting story of a Recluse...pious in the end and shameless to begin! There is a PEACE found within the walls of a Convent whether Cloistered or not that does drown the Spinning out of Control noise of Society and ALL its ILLS!

    I've often wondered if I could ever step thru the door into the World of Perpetual Adoration of Prayer for the Redemption of the Worlds Sins...and then to bake Pumpkin Breadloaf for sale to raise the funds to help the Poor! We do have this here in Hollywood - THE MONASTERY OF THE ANGELS...and the pumpkin loaf is delish!

    How and where did u get the color schemes and interior images...she was very beautiful, and wonder if La Coco knew her...same time and background!

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