Mme de Pourtales

Overview

Mélanie, comtesse de Pourtalès (1836–1914), born Louise Sophie Mélanie Renouard de Bussière, a Strasbourg-born beauty and hostess of the Second Empire, lady-in-waiting to Empress Eugénie, wife since 1857 of the financier Edmond de Pourtalès; she died on 5 May 1914 (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mélanie_de_Pourtalès; BnF data.bnf.fr/12550745). Renoir painted her in 1870.

Relevance to Marie

Stub replaced. Identification as Mélanie from the earlier RSR notes (084.0619 and 104.0158, 'probably Mélanie, 0.7') plus the Wikipedia/BnF record; the age «quarante-cinq ans» for 1879 fits the 1836 birth only roughly (she would be 42-43). 099.0477 may refer to another Pourtalès. Possible duplicates: POURTALES, MADAME_DE_POURTALES.

References in Diary

Marie sees her at the Comédie-Française on 25 March 1879: «Mme de Pourtalès qui bien que paraissant ses quarante-cinq ans est miraculeusement belle, svelte et gracieuse. Sans lorgnettes on lui donnerait vingt-cinq…» (084.0549). In April 1879 a ball «arranged by her» is mentioned (084.0619); in August 1879 Marie ranks a lady «bien moins belle que Mme de Pourtalès ou Mme de Mouchy» (086.0122). In May 1883 Mlle Martinoff is cited at Mme de Pourtalès's (099.0556). In March and May 1884 she is among the great beauties (103.0551) and in the boxes at the Opéra (104.0158).