Hostess whose salon in the Hôtel de Rambouillet became an international meeting place of artists and men of letters from 1749 to 1777.
The daughter of a valet she married a rich, uneducated ice-cream manufacturer, a member of the newly influential bourgeoisie whith whom she had no rapport.
Lacking formal education herself Madame Geoffrin was sensitive, an excellent listener and naturally intelligent; she inherited the salon of the more unconventional Madame de Tencin, gave it an added tone of respectability and became a generous, motherly patron to her guests and protégés, offering them criticism and advice.
She ruled her domain with tact and strictness; neither religion nor politics as a subject of conversation was permitted.
On MOndays such artists as François Boucher, Maurice La Tour and Jean-Baptiste Greuze attended; on Wednesdays writers including Horace Walpole, Pierre Marivaux, Bernard de Fontenelle and Helvétius were present.
Madame Geoffrin´s salon was a centre for the Encyclopédistes and she subsidized their vast project. Her salon rivalled that of the aristocratic Madame du Deffand and she was considered the typical Parisienne, rarely leaving the city save for one visit to King Stanislaw II of Poland in 1766.
Despite her association with the skeptical Philosophes she maintained a personal religion and was buried according to Christian rites.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment