under dust, hidden from time,-- Paris treasures

Imagine some 70 years ago a young Parisien girl had lived in this apartment in the 9eme arrondissement.

It was WWII ,the Nazis had taken hold of the City of Light and people were fleeing to the south of France.

Suppose the apartment in Paris had continued to be paid for all these 70 years....though,it remained closed.

Why ? Who had lived there? What memories were frozen in time?

This was so for the apartment of  the decest French actrice, Marthe de Florian!!  It is said that her Grand Daughter fled from this setting during the Nazi occupied Paris never to return.

According to many sources, including the Luxe Chronicles,

" Marthe de Florian, actress and "demimondaine" or "cocotte" whose beauty once won her the ardent favours of George Clemenceau, 72nd prime minister of France and Italian artist Giovanni Boldini (1842-1931) amongst others, left her flat to the care of her family upon her death. Her granddaughter lived in the flat located near Paris' red light district of Pigalle until she fled for the South of France just before the outbreak of WWII never to return again."

Why did romantic story become uncovered after 70 years?

apparently....

"Marthe de Florian's granddaughter recently passed away at the ripe old age of 91. Among the dusty, cobweb filled effects bequeathed to her by her grandmother, the executors of her estate found a stack of racy love letters bound neatly with a ribbon and a fine portrait painted by Boldini of a young 24 year old Marthe in full bloom. While the painting's value was estimated at €300 000, it fetched a cool €2.1 million at auction, a record for the artist whose famous patrons once included the Marchesa Luisa Cassati."

Luxe Chronicles

 Imagine Marthe and her grand daughter peering into this ornate dressing table!!

This story became an international fascination because Marthe, apparently of exquisite beauty, kept her love letters from each lover tied up in a separate colored ribbon and because she was painted by Boldini.

Included in this illustrious setting were many period pieces!

Why was this finding so intriquing?

Here from the  UK Telegraph

"Entering the untouched, cobweb-filled flat in Paris' 9th arrondissement, one expert said it was like stumbling into the castle of Sleeping Beauty, where time had stood still since 1900.

"There was a smell of old dust," said Olivier Choppin-Janvry, who made the discovery. Walking under high wooden ceilings, past an old wood stove and stone sink in the kitchen, he spotted a stuffed ostrich and a Mickey Mouse toy dating from before the war, as well as an exquisite dressing table.

But he said his heart missed a beat when he caught sight of a stunning tableau of a woman in a pink muslin evening dress.

The painting was by Boldini and the subject a beautiful Frenchwoman who turned out to be the artist's former muse and whose granddaughter it was who had left the flat uninhabited for more than half a century."

Amazing- a story of loves, life lived fully, generations, secrets, 

and the treasure of a master piece, Boldini !!!

"The expert had a hunch the painting was by Boldini, but could find no record of the painting. "No reference book dedicated to Boldini mentioned the tableau, which was never exhibited," said Marc Ottavi, the art specialist he consulted about the work.

When Mr Choppin-Janvry found a visiting card with a scribbled love note from Boldini, he knew he had struck gold. "We had the link and I was sure at that moment that it was indeed a very fine Boldini".

He finally found a reference to the work in a book by the artist's widow, which said it was painted in 1898 when Miss de Florian was 24.

The starting price for the painting was €300,000 but it rocketed as ten bidders vyed for the historic work. Finally it went under the hammer for €2.1 million, a world record for the artist.

"It was a magic moment. One could see that the buyer loved the painting; he paid the price of passion," said Mr Ottavi."

Amazing- a story of love, life lived fully, generations, secrets, 

and the treasure of a master piece !!!