Simonides (artist couple)

Overview

"The Simonides household" (le ménage Simonidès) were an artist couple living in Paris whom Marie met around late April 1880, apparently through Académie Julian connections. The wife was known to Marie "from Julian's" and was a painter and singer of classical Italian romances. She dressed in a Boccaccio-era aesthetic (white Japanese crepe, antique goldsmith jewelry). The husband was described as "handsome and young" and both produced paintings and drawings in a Renaissance-imitation style — subjects including the death of Beatrice, the death of Laura, and scenes from Boccaccio's Decameron. They lived in seclusion and associated only with a few artists.

References in Diary

• 1880-04-29: Dinner at the Simonides household; extended description of the wife's costume, their art, and an evening of Italian singing.
• 1880-04-26: Marie mentions knowing the wife from Julian's studio.

Notes

Full biographical identification not yet established. The name "Simonidès" may be a Hellenised pseudonym; unrelated to the ancient Greek lyric poet Simonides of Ceos.