Articles
Frame presenting a lock of hair that belonged to Pauline de Beaumont known as l'Hirondelle*, Chateaubriant's lover, wooden frame and brass strapping, vintage early 19th century.
This frame is in good general condition, annotated on the back.
Note: old worm holes on the frame, wear and tear, see photos.
is a woman of the world and woman of letters, best known for having been the mistress of François-René de Chateaubriand (who nicknamed her "the Swallow") and for having held a literary salon where the most brilliant intellectuals of Paris at the twilight of the Age of Enlightenment. Marie-Michelle-Frédérique-Ulrique-Pauline de Beaumont is the daughter of Count Armand-Marc de Montmorin, diplomat and then Minister of Foreign Affairs to Louis XVI, and Françoise-Gabrielle de Tanes. The fall of the monarchy will be a real family tragedy for the Montmorins (death of his father and brother). Faced with the dangers that await them, the Montmorins take refuge in Burgundy. Her sister died in prison, her mother was beheaded in 1794. Pauline, remaining in Burgundy, was taken in by peasants from Passy, the Paquereaus, then by the philosopher Joseph Joubert who, with a loving affection that would last all his life, protected. Pauline also knows she has tuberculosis and therefore seeks to enjoy life. It was at Joubert's house in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne that she met Chateaubriand for the first time. Her physical weakness combined with her beauty makes it for the writer, who calls her “the Swallow”, the incarnation of romantic love. She brings together in her house, near the Luxembourg Palace, the literary and political hopes of her time: in addition to Chateaubriand and Joubert, we find Fontanes, Count Molé, but also lesser-known young people like Ambroise Rendu and Philibert Guéneau de Mussy . Pauline de Beaumont lives her affair with Chateaubriand in full contradiction: he who writes the Genius of Christianity is then the herald of the Catholic renaissance. She, educated in the moral principles of Pierre Nicole, has a strong spirituality. However, the customs of the time being quite free, their affair could take place in broad daylight. The two lovers retired for a time to Savigny-sur-Orge, then Chateaubriant left for Rome in 1803. She joins him to die there. The funeral ceremony takes place at the Saint-Louis-des-Français church, in the presence of all French society in Rome. Princess Borghese (Pauline Bonaparte, sister of the first consul), offers her car for the procession. Chateaubriand had a monument built by the sculptor Marin in the church. Pauline de Beaumont is shown lying on her bed.
