Marthe de Florian was a French socialite during France’s Belle Époque. Madame Florian was also a demimondaine, which is a fairly fancy word for a courtesan or mistress whose bills and expenses were paid by her lovers. These ladies were typically well trained in deportment and elegant manners, and they knew the value of jewels and fine art. Some of Madame Florian’s lovers included Giovanni Boldini, Paul Deschanel, Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau, and others. Marthe de Florian would have probably been forgotten from history as the demimondaine usually were, but something extraordinary happened in 2010. The apartment she occupied in Paris, France, was discovered untouched since 1942.
Madame Florian died at the age of 74 in her apartment, which was located on the fourth floor at Square La Bruyère, in 1939. Henri Beaugiron, her son, witnessed and signed his mother’s death certificate and was living in the apartment with her at the time of her death. Eventually, the residence was inherited by Madame Florian’s granddaughter, a playwright named Solange Beasugiron. During World War II, in 1942, Solange feared Nazi persecution, so she fled to the South of France. Solange left the 1,500 square foot apartment forever, never to return. It seems that Henri lived in the apartment until his death in 1966, but it’s evident that he had made no changes to the apartment, and Solange didn’t even bother coming to see about the apartment when her father died.
YouTube
However, Solange kept paying the rent and expenses, believe it or not, until she died at the age of 91 in June 2010. Since she had never opened the apartment since her father’s death, everything inside the apartment lay untouched. The contents of the time capsule apartment included antique furniture, fine art, and typical items you’d see in early 20th-century life in Paris. One of the most valuable pieces of art in the apartment was this painting by renowned artist Giovanni Boldini, who was one of her lovers. It’s a portrait of Madame de Florian titled “Portrait of de Florian,” painted in 1888. As you can see, she was a legendary beauty.
In the portrait, Madame Florian is wearing a pink muslin evening gown. The painting was never exhibited, listed, or published, but people clearing out the apartment found a scribbled love note from the artist on a visiting card. Also, there was a short reference to the painting in a 1951 book commissioned by Boldini’s widow, Emilia Cardona. Cardona confirmed the verity of the painting. The artist’s widow says that Madame Florian was 24 years old when Boldini painted her portrait. When it went to auction, it sold for €3 million ($2.5 million), which was a world record selling price for a work by Boldini. Likely the story behind the painting made it more special and valuable to whoever bought it.
YouTube
The story of the discovery of Madame Florian’s apartment became the inspiration for the novel “A Paris Apartment” by Michelle Gable. Watch this unbelievable video below.
