#adrienne ségur

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LA ROSE DE NOËL

1966

Éditions Flammarion

Artist : Adrienne Ségur

La légende de la rose de noël

[nordleuchten]

Hello! I hope you’re having a wonderful day.

I was wondering if you had any idea on where to look for informations about the Noailles family.

The only sources I could find was Adriennes biography, and Anything that had to do with Lafayette. So wondered if you knew of any other materials I could take a look at. (Maybe about Adrienne’s sisters, parents, or cosines, other relatives etc.)

Dear Anon,

I have to make a confession – the Noailles-family never has captured my interest quite *that* much and therefor my answer may be a bit limited. Then again, there has been a lot less published about the Noailles-family then about the La Fayette-family.

You mentioned that you had a look at biographies about Adrienne – I do not know which ones you consulted; maybe you already know some of the ones I am going to suggest.

La Vie de Madame de Lafayette is a book that Adrienne and her youngest daughter Virginie co-authored. Adrienne wrote the first half of the book about her mother, de Duchess d’Ayen, and Virginie wrote the second half about Adrienne and then went on to publish the book after her mother’s death. While La Fayette is mentioned in both parts, he is only a minor character in this book.

Anne-Paule-Dominique de Noailles, Marquis de Montague (the title varies sometimes a little depending on the edition and/or the translation) are the Memoirs of Adrienne’s second youngest sister. Anne survived both her sister Adrienne as well as her brother-in-law La Fayette and died in 1839. The book gives great insight into her life.

Madame de Lafayette and her family by Mary McDermont Crawford is an old book that deals in large part with the La Fayette-part of the family – but the Noailles-part is represented as well, even some of the more “minor” members of the family.

I also would suggest the Memoirs of the Comte de Ségur. Now, I do not use his Memoirs as often as I could, but since Ségur was a family friend both to the La Fayette’s as well as to the Noailles’ I believe that there should be something in his Memoirs.

I know that the Archive in Geneva has a few letters from and to the Duc d’Ayen and his second wife, Adrienne’s step-mother, but these letters are hard to access online.

Now, if you are really interested and do not mind a bit of digging, I can recommend the letters of La Fayette (especially the earlier letter that we have) and of John Adams (when he was ambassador in France). Both had a lot of contact with the Noailles and either wrote to members of the Noailles-family directly or mentioned incidents of the family live as well as, in Adams case, commenting on the family members and their behavior/opinions/etc.

It is not much but I hope that you can use this at least as a starting point. I hope you have/had a wonderful day!

[themidcenturyscene]

"Os Desastres de Sofia," cover, 1946

"Les Malheurs de Sophie," written by the Countess Adrienne Ségur. Portuguese edition Casa do Livro Editora, Lisbon. Oficina Artistas Unidos, Porto.

[evelyngarciatirado-blog]

DuDu Home & Deco, una marca de cuentos de hadas

DuDu Home Cerámica y Textiles es una marca del artista y diseñador Eduardo Masías Vizcarra, que nos trae varias propuestas llenas de color y frescura para adornar nuestro hogar de una manera divertida y adorable. Eduardo recurre a las figuras de los cuentos de hadas, imprimiéndoles un sello personal que las hace únicas. Es así que los fans de relatos como “Caperucita Roja”, “Rapunzel, “Cenicienta”, “Cascanueces”, “Blancanieves”,  “Hansel y Gretel”, y, sobre todo, “Alicia en el País de las Maravillas”, encontrarán un pequeño paraíso de enseres como teteras, azucareras, tazas, manteles, floreros, vasos, cojines, etc., decorados con sus personajes favoritos, donde el toque del artista los hace aún más entrañables, debido al enorme talento que hay en juego. Se nota un estudio exhaustivo de la naturaleza para diseñar las plantas, setas, animales y flores que acompañan a los elementos centrales y los tonos que se usan son muy atractivos a la vista. Utiliza colores ligados a la tierra y colores fríos y pasteles, tonos delicados que se quedan en la retina y en el corazón. Los trabajos de Eduardo parecen estar inspirados en los artistas europeos de fines del siglo XIX y principios del siglo XX (en una onda vintage) o en la ilustradora francesa Adrienne Ségur, por las formas que usa y por la calidez y delicadeza que proyectan. Es arte que hace las delicias de los más pequeños en casa y también de adultos con alma de niño que aman lo lúdico y lo original, pues es una verdad tan grande como un obelisco que los humanos cobramos fuerzas y ánimo en el día a día si es que en nuestro hogar contamos con objetos hermosos que iluminen las habitaciones y nos arranquen una sonrisa. Es el caso del bello calendario “Alicia 2024”, donde cada mes supone una aventura de la mano del tímido Conejo Blanco, el susceptible y miedoso Ratón, el Sombrerero Loco (y su mesa infinita llena de exquisitas golosinas), la impaciente y refinada Liebre de Marzo, la Reina de Corazones y su séquito de cartas, la Oruga sabia y gruñona, y, cómo no, el misterioso Gato de Cheshire, cuya sonrisa se difumina en el aire. Los preciosos colores y los minúsculos detalles son los que le confieren una magia especial a este calendario y a todos los artículos que salen de las manos de Eduardo. Demás está decir que sus colecciones tienen una edición limitada y que el artista utiliza indistintamente el papel, las telas, el vidrio, la cerámica, etc. Si desean encontrarlo en las redes, pueden acudir a su Instagram: @duduhomedeco , a su cuenta de Facebook: DuDu Home & Deco o a su WhatsApp: 983 475 892.

Por: Evelyn García Tirado

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Adrienne Ségur (source Emilflore Flickr)

[thatsbutterbaby]

Illustration by Adrienne Segur / Alice in Wonderland.  

[rumforall]

The Fairy Tale Book

Hardcover

1958

Artist : Adrienne Ségur

[faerie-bear]

L’enfant et les sortilèges

[lovehael]

Adrienne Ségur illustration for Beauty and the Beast

[marq-de-laf]

are there any anecdotes about angry lafayette?

I’m away from my books at the moment due to a COVID related incident (precautionary only) so take this with a grain of salt. BUT from what I remember, there was a time when Lafayette was very young--prior to going to America young--where he heard through the grapevine that his friend, the Comte de Ségur, had won the affections of a lady he’d fallen in love with.  Ségur had no idea. Instead of checking his sources, Lafayette literally got up in the middle of the night, took a sword, busted into his pal’s room, and challenged him to a duel. According to the Comte, it took nearly all night to talk Lafayette down from the fight and restore their friendship. But Gilbert came in HOT. The story is pretty hilarious, but is unfortunately marred by the fact that, if I’m not mistaken, he was a newly wed at the time. 

That’s what happens when you’re a punk kid and only one of you married for love. If you’re interested in learning more about the complicated, fascinating relationship between Lafayette and his lovely wife Adrienne, search her name on my blog.

[lepetitdragonvert]

The Blue Bird / L’oiseau bleu

1951

Artist : Adrienne Ségur

[nordleuchten]

srry to be pestering you with asks, but I realized that I hold adrienne on a way to high pedestal, so pls tell me bad stuff she did, she couldn't be so perfect all the time now, could she?

Dear @msrandonstuff,

what a silly notion that your questions would pester me. I love your asks, so please keep them coming! :-)

I absolutely agree with you, nobody is perfect and Adrienne was certainly no exception. However, this question is not as easy to answer as one might think. There are a few things that most people could agree upon that are bad. Adultery for example is almost universally frowned upon - from all that we know, Adrienne had next to none of these “major” character flaws. She was a dutiful wife and a loving mother, she was pious and humble, obedient and enduring. There are “milder” character flaws that often lie in the eyes of the beholder. Something that I find commendable might be looked down upon by you or the other way around.

Two examples that come to my mind are firstly Adrienne’s religious beliefs. Even some of her contemporaries thought she was rather overdoing it. Her own husband for example was sometimes wary of his wives believes. I for one find her devotion inspiring but not everybody would share that opinion.

Another point of critique is secondly her very obedient nature. Adrienne proofed time and time again, especially during the French Revolution, that she was an intelligent and strong minded person, capable of keeping her family safe and of coming up with strategies even during the most desperate of times. When she decided to submit quietly to her husband’s wishes, it was just that. A decision and not necessitated by a lack of talents. Modern researches especially have pointed out that Adrienne should have more often taken a stand and spoken up.

The greatest problem with this answer is that you and me might put Adrienne on a pedestal, but her family basically worshipped her, especially after her untimely death. They had almost complete control over the narrative. The most important sources about the inner workings of the La Fayette family are La Fayette’s memoirs, Virginie’s books, the memoirs if Adrienne’s sister and the writing from very close and intimate family friends (Ségur and Cloquet for example.) None of them would have written a single bad word about Adrienne, even if there were something to write about. The family also had complete control about their letters and could have easily protected Adrienne’s legacy by destroying or withholding damming letters.

In short, Adrienne was a very agreeable person to be around and some character flaws have to be assessed by each person individually. If there had been material that would have presented her in a bad light, her family would have probably kept it from the public eye.

If you were to systematically go through all of the family’s letters and writings, through the memoirs and the associated memoirs, you might find a story or two but that would take some time.

I hope you have/had an awesome day!

[anton-wyzek]

Empress Eugenie surrounded by her ladies in waiting, painted by Franz Xaver Winterhalter and completed in 1855.

Anne d'Essling (1802-1887) served as Grand-Maitresse for Empress Eugenie from 1853-1870.

Next to the Empress Eugenie is her dame d'honneur, Pauline de Bassano. Born in 1814, she served this position from 1853 to her death in 1867.

Jane Thorne(in white dress with blue ribbon) was born in New York in 1821 to American millionaire Herman Thorne and Jane Mary Jauncey. She kept her position to Empress Eugenie from 1853 to 1870. Her husband, Eugène Stéphane de Pierres was the equerry to the Empress, he kept his position for the same amount of time as his wife.

Louise Poitelon du Tarde(next to Jane Thorne)was the daughter of Louis Gabriel Poitelon du Tarde and Louise Anne Vétillart du Ribert. Born in 1826, she became Dame du Palais for Empress Eugenie after the Empress' marriage to Napoleon the third. By 1864 she was declared an invalid and was requested to leave her position, but remained an honorary lady in waiting.

Anne Mortier de Trévise(in purple) was born in 1829 to Napoléon Mortier, II. duc de Trévise and Anne-Marie Lecomte-Stuart. Anne was often the traveling companion to Empress Eugenie. Her parents died before the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war, followed by her son, who died in battle and her daughter who died in childbirth. Her husband suffered a deep depression due to this and Anne devoted herself to nursing him.

Claire Emilie MacDonnel(in white, with roses on her dress)was the daughter of Hugh MacDonnel and Ida Louise Ulrich. She married marquis de Las Marismas de Guadalquivir, in 1841. After his death in a mental asylum, she married her brother in law Onésipe Aguado, vicomte Aguado, in 1863. After the fall of the Empire, she retired from high society life as her loyalty to the Empress Eugenie made her feel disloyal if she were to participate in society life under the new administration.

Nathalie de Ségur(in yellow) was born in 1827, she accompanied her husband on his diplomatic missions as he was the minister to Florence and because of this never attended court very often.

Adrienne de Villeneuve-Bargemont was born in 1826, she was the daughter of Alban Jean-Paul de Villeneuve-Bargemont and Emma de Carbonnel de Canisy. Her son often joined her in court at the request of the Empress, the boy composed poems for Eugenie and read them to her. The Empress was particularly attached to Adrienne and mourned her deeply when Adrienne died on June 7th 1870 after an illness that had affected her for several years.

[themidcenturyscene]

"Comédias e Provérbios," cover, 1946

Written by the Countess Adrienne Ségur. Portuguese edition Casa do Livro Editora, Lisbon. Oficina Artistas Unidos, Porto.

[fragolette]

Art by Adrienne Ségur, a great french fairytale illustrator. I love her style !

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Adrienne Ségur (source Emilflore Flickr)