SakshiOne Clue From Several Others
Marc Ottavi was one of the members of the team of experts that was seeing to the case. While going through the bundle of letters, the man spotted a visiting card that was actually a love note by Boldini. Ottavi explains, “We had the link and I was sure at that moment that [the painting] was indeed a very fine Boldini.” The letter that Marc had found was big evidence substantiating the link between Boldini and Marthe. Interestingly, that was not the end.
A String Of Famous Love Affairs
Marthe de Florian was quite famous for her link-ups with prominent personalities like Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau (the 68th Prime Minister of France), Georges Clemenceau (the 72nd Prime Minister of France), Gaston Doumergue (13th President of France), and Paul Deschanel (11th President of France). The love letters validate the assumption that Boldini and Marthe did have something going on between them. However, the painting did not confirm their affair but the letters were enough to uncover their relationship and so the mystery of this apartment. As if the letter were not enough, experts got their hand on one more thing that put all the doubts to rest at once.
Emilia Cardona
The next thing that the experts found was a book. It was written by Emilia Cardona, wife of Boldini, in 1951. The book spanned her and her husband’s life. The lady while writing did not forget to mention Marthe De Florian. Marthe was 24 years old when Boldini painted her picture in 1888. Not only that she also mentioned that the two had an affair. Now her revelation only added to the confidence of the experts.
Woman In The Painting
The researchers concluded that Marthe de Florian was a French courtesan. The woman took birth on September 9, 1864, and passed away on August 29, 1939. The life of this woman had been erased from history all along. But now the woman is revived once again in history by Choppin-Janvry’s team after seven decades. The woman was born in the 18th arrondissement of Paris to Henriette Eloïse Bara and Jean Beaugiron. The woman had three siblings. However, she lost two of her brothers when they were very young. Even the details of the woman’s sister were not documented properly.
More Of Her
She became a mother for the first time on October 12, 1882. There was no detail regarding his father’s name on his birth certificate. However, the document did have his profession registered on it. The certificate suggested that the man was an embroiderer by profession. Unfortunately, her son could not make it long and died only after turning three months old. And his death followed by another twist.
A Cherished Son
However, the fortune did knock her door once again when she brought her second son to the world on April 7, 1884. The lady named his second son Henri Beaugiron. Her son spent his entire life and took his last breath in the same city only on May 12, 1966. He inhabited the same apartment on Rue La Bruyère during his living years. Well, not much is known about his father but it is assumed that his father must be one of her lovers including Auguste Albert Gaston Florian Mollard. It is also suspected that the name “de Florian” might have been derived from there only.