Claire de Canrobert

Who she was

Claire Certain de Canrobert (1865-1945) was the daughter of Marshal François Certain de Canrobert (1809-1895), the Crimean and Franco-Prussian War commander, and of Leila Flora Macdonald, "la maréchale" of the diary. Marie's own words identify her: "Claire (Canrobert)" (099.0419), "la petite Canrobert" (098.0432), "Mlle Canrobert" (098.0464), the daughter of "la maréchale Canrobert ... sa fille (qui travaille chez Julian)" (098.0279). The Musée d'Orsay's record of an 1884 photographic print by Louis Jean Delton calls the sitter "Claire de Canrobert, future Mme Paul Fabre-Roustand, baron de Navacelle (1865-1945)", and genealogical sources give her full name as Eugénie Angélique Rose Hélène Claire Leila Certain de Canrobert (Geneanet tree of the Canrobert family). She married the naval officer Paul Fabre-Roustand de Navacelle (1861-1939) in August 1890 (a notice in Le Mot d'ordre, 14 August 1890; man8rove family page for Fabre-Roustand de Navacelle) and died in 1945. Their children were Henri (1891–1947), Napoléon Charles (1893–1915), Marcelle Flora Marie (1897–1979) and Anne Eugénie (1898–1977) (Geneanet; Geni, "Claire de Navacelle (Canrobert)").

The family spent winters in Paris (rue de Marignan, 104.0152) and summers at Jouy-en-Josas near Versailles, where the marshal owned the château de l'Églantine, now the musée de la toile de Jouy (fr.wikipedia: François Certain de Canrobert). Her brothers in the diary are Marcel (17 in 1883, 101.0240; the marshal's son Marcelin Certain-Canrobert, 1867-1921, cavalry officer) and a younger boy, Louis, "qui n'a que dix ans" in July 1883 (100.0294). Louis has not been identified in the published genealogies.

The "Claire" of carnet 080 (17-19 May 1878) is not her: in 080.0160 Marie imagines "une jeune fille française, une Mlle Acard, Claire ou Mathilde ... Suzanne peut-être" as a wife for Cassagnac, and in 080.0182 there is "une Claire qui a... des enfants"; these are first names in her musings, in 1878, five years before she met the Canroberts.

Marie and Claire

Meeting (February-May 1883). On 3 February 1883 the maréchale comes with her daughter, who studies at Julian's, to see Marie's studio (098.0279). Marie is aware of the value of the friendship: it would do her more good to be seen walking with Mlle Canrobert than with a Russian consul's wife, since her family lacks the protection of the Russian embassy (099.0333). Through the spring Claire, Marie and Alice Brisbane take weekly perspective lessons from Émile Bastien-Lepage in Marie's studio (098.0431, 098.0464, 098.0484; the course stops for a while when "la petite Canrobert" has the mumps, 099.0139); Marie finds her "très intelligente" (099.0234), and Claire comes to paint at Marie's side: "la petite Canrobert peint à côté de moi" (099.0126), "Claire (Canrobert) peint une nature morte" (099.0419) while Marie paints Bojidar (099.0317). On 17 May Marie dines at the Canroberts' after Claire has worked with her on the pastel of Villevieille (099.0465). On 14 May the maréchale tells Marie she would "remplacer maman en son absence" and calls her daughter's friend (099.0442). Marie's own letter in June, to Alice, accuses her of writing to Claire "parce que vous vous êtes imaginée qu'elle est plus grande dame que moi" (100.0235).

Jouy and the daily visits (July 1883 -- April 1884). In July 1883 Marie stays three days at Jouy: "Claire est charmante" (100.0294). In late August and early September she is at Jouy again with her aunt and Dina and paints the pastel portrait of Louis (101.0320), watching Claire paint "tout en causant" (101.0317); in the evenings she and Claire lie on the drawing-room floor and talk art (101.0320). Claire tells Marie she cannot have a girl friend because she has no "petits secrets" (101.0373). From December 1883 Claire and Villevieille paint every day in Marie's studio (102.0499, 103.0074). Marie is by turns charmed and exasperated: "Claire a des manières de garçon maintenant que nous sommes très intimes" (103.0076), and "cette Claire est une punition du ciel" (103.0414). On New Year's Eve 1883 the maréchale kisses Marie at midnight, wishing that her "précieuse amitié reste à Claire" (102.0618); Claire reports what the painter Jules Lefebvre says of Marie at the princesse Mathilde's (102.0619), and in January Marie takes her round painters' studios (102.0657, 102.0672). In March 1884 she and Marie reconcile on the grass at Jouy: "nous sommes maintenant assez amies pour que ça n'arrive plus" (103.0553). On 10 and 13 March Marie paints a life-size portrait of Claire in the garden (103.0484, 103.0504); no trace of it has been found.

Claire's picture, painted by Marie. The most documented episode is the flower-seller canvas of winter 1883-84. On 17 December 1883 Claire announces she will paint "des fleurs avec une vieille marchande" and Marie sees at once "ce sera encore moi" (102.0501). Marie sketches the whole picture, paints almost all of it and leaves Claire the daisies; Popelin and Madeleine Lemaire praise the figure and criticise the daisies (103.0347, 103.0375-0377); on 22 January Claire finds it "presque fini, grand étonnement" (103.0099). Marie finds the whole transaction a cowardice ("Ce n'est pas par amitié que je commets ce faux", 14 February 1884, see #Tableau_de_Claire_fleurs). The picture was shown at the Salon of 1884: Claire "est reçue" on 24 March (103.0582), Henry Houssaye in his review of the Salon in the Revue des Deux Mondes writes "La Marchande de fleurs, de Mlle de Certain, est un début plein de promesses" (Wikisource), and on 7 May Marie reads in the Figaro's "Paris d'Etincelle" a piece on the "mondaines-peintres" in which she comes "immédiatement après Claire" (104.0131). The identification of "Mlle de Certain" with Claire rests on the family name and the subject; the livret entry was not consulted. Marie meanwhile hears with fury that her own "n° 3" (the position of Un meeting) seems natural to the Canroberts (103.0582, 103.0692); on 1 April "cette sacrée petite gueuse de Claire me dit que j'ai tort de mal prendre le n° 3" (103.0655). Marie's note of 15 June is guarded: "Les Canrobert ? Si l'on veut, mais je ne me livre pas entièrement avec eux" (104.0587).

The last summer (June-August 1884). In June she is a "petite" who knows Sully-Prudhomme (104.0487). In July Marie is "enragée": the Canroberts "ne me lâcheront pas tant que je ne leur ferai un tableau pour Claire" (105.0281). At Jouy on 30 July she writes a long account of the maréchale's education of her daughter: an "amie étrangère" to give Claire "des aperçus de divers pays", examinations at the Hôtel de Ville, drawing, talk of Wagner; "Claire est une petite fille extraordinairement perfectionnée" (105.0360-0362); she suspects Claire of borrowing her remarks, "elle finira par me faire sentir que je la pille" (105.0421), sits beside her at the Versailles Congress on 4 August (105.0423), and on 5 August writes the long tirade on the girl with "sa tête ronde, ses cheveux de japonaise" and the "esprit des jeunes filles intelligentes": "C'est fatigant, c'est fatigant, c'est fatigant" (105.0455). Marie then takes Claire aside to tell her she cannot go on helping (105.0364), but does paint the Bièvre canvas she will have Claire copy (105.0399). On 26 August Claire and the maréchale come to Paris to buy a wedding present for the young Fleury (105.0675) -- the last mention.

In Marie's art

Related entries

Sources