A Brief History of...
"[The Countess] was born Virginia Oldoini on March 22, 1837, in Florence, Italy. In 1854, at the "ripe" age of sixteen, [she] married the wealthy Count Francesco Verasis de Castiglione.
The following year, [they] moved to Paris where [she] had been asked by [her] cousin, Prime Minister Camillo Cavour, to assist in diplomatic affairs. The Crimean War had just ended, and the Congress of Paris was meeting to negotiate negotiate the conditions of peace. At the time, Italy was divided into separate states under the control of Austria, and, aware of Napoleon III's weakness for beautiful women, Cavour sent his cousin to aid in the fight for Italian unity and peace. Shortly after [her] arrival in Paris, [she] became Napoleon's mistress, a position which afforded [her] access to many of France's most elite and powerful people. [Her] affair with the Emperor lasted a little over a year, during with time [she] attended many court festivities. Late one night, however, Napoleon's life was threatened just after he left the Countess' home. Suspected of collusion, the Countess was forced to leave France and return to Italy. In 1857, [she] divorced [her] husband, but remained in correspondence with him until the end of his life, occasionally sending him portraits of [her]self. It was common knowledge that [she] had multiple affairs with wealthy men, which contributed to [her] unsuccessful marriage, while it also afforded [her] an extravagant lifestyle. In 1861, [she] returned to Paris but was unable to regain [her] previous status at Court. It was during this time that [her] collaboration with Pierson was at its peak. After the deaths of [her] husband in 1867 and [her] son in 1879, little was seen of [her]. [She] lived alone in a small apartment with black walls and no mirrors. Amidst the glitter of the Guilded Age, [she] died a lonely woman in Paris on November 28, 1899." Excerpt from "Is She Mad, or Does She Joke"
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"Portrait photography was a popular practice and theatrical event in mid-nineteenth century Paris. The practice fed the public's appetite for images of themselves as distinctive beings, which reflected their appetite for images of actors, politicians, military giants, and members of nobility. The popularity of the practice was enabled by the development of the carte-de-visite in the mid 1850's.
A 2.5 x 4 inch albumen print portrait mounted on card stock, the carte-de-visite made the reproduction and trading of portraits easy, affordable, and popular. Consumers traded portraits of themselves, family members, and friends, and also purchased and traded portraits of celebrities. It all started with a carte-de-visite of Napoleon III. The appearance of this commercially available Lilliputian-sized image of the Emperor caused a stir in Paris that ignited a city-wide explosion for cartomania. " |
Excerpt from Is She Mad, or Does She Joke.
Pictured: One of Napoleon III's carte-de-visites |
Episode 1More Than Meets the Eye
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Episode 2Body & Movement
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Episode 3Crew & Favorite Lines
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