1841 RACHEL FELIX AUTOGRAPH LETTER THANKS FOR PORTRAIT FRENCH ACTRESS ICON For Sale

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1841 RACHEL FELIX AUTOGRAPH LETTER THANKS FOR PORTRAIT FRENCH ACTRESS ICON:
$649.99

[FRENCH ACTRESSES, NAPOLEON III, AUTOGRAPH LETTERS]

On offer here is an ORIGINAL RACHEL FELIX (aka 'RACHEL') AUTOGRAPH LETTER FROM JUNE 1841.

The letter dated June 18, 1841 and measuring 4 in x 5.25 in, is in excellent condition and is entirely written in Rachels' hand in brown ink. Rachel is thanking a man for sending a portrait. She then is sending him two statues ostensibly as thanks. (please ask questions if there are doubts of my intrepretation of the French). A great artifact from the noted and iconic French actress.

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Elisabeth Félix(21 February 1821 – 3 January 1858), better known only as Mademoiselle Rachel,was a French actress. She became a prominent figure in French society, and wasthe mistress of, among others, Napoleon III, Prince Napoléon, and AlexandreColonna-Walewski, the illegitimate son of Napoleon I. Efforts by newspapers topublish pictures of her on her deathbed led to the introduction of privacyrights into French law.

Biography

Rachel Félix wasborn as Elisabeth Félix on 28 February 1821, in Mumpf, Rheinfelden, Aargau, toa family of Jewish background. Her father, Jacob Félix, was a peddler and hermother, Esther Hayer, was a Bohemian dealer in second-hand clothes. She hadfour sisters (Sarah, Rebecca, Dinah, and Leah) and one brother, Raphael.

As a child,Félix earned money singing and reciting in the streets. She arrived in Paris in1830 intending to become an actress. She took elocution and singing lessons,eventually studying under the instruction of the musician Alexandre-ÉtienneChoron and Saint-Aulaire. She took dramatic arts classes and debuted in LaVendéenne in January 1837, at the Théâtre du Gymnase. Delestre-Poirson, thedirector, gave her the stage name Rachel, which she chose to retain in herprivate life as well.[citation needed]

Rachel wasdescribed as a very serious and committed student. She was admired for herintelligence, work ethic, diction, and ability to act. Auditioning in March1838, she starred in Pierre Corneille's Horace at the Théâtre-Français at theage of 17.

During this timeshe began a liaison with Louis Véron, the former director of the Paris Opera,which became the subject of much gossip. During this time, from 1838 to 1842,she lived in a third-floor apartment in Paris's Galerie Véro-Dodat.

Her fame spreadthroughout Europe after success in London in 1841, and she was often associatedwith the works of Racine, Voltaire, and Corneille. She toured Brussels, Berlin,and St. Petersburg.

Although Frenchclassical tragedy was no longer popular at the time Rachel entered the stage ofComédie-Française, she remained true to her classical roots, arousing audienceswith a craving for the tragic style of writers like Corneille, Racine and Moliere.

She created thetitle role in Eugène Scribe's Adrienne Lecouvreur. Her acting style wascharacterized by clear diction and economy of gesture; she evoked a high demandfor classical tragedy to remain on the stage. This represented a major changefrom the exaggerated style of those days, as society was beginning to demandthe highly emotional, realistic, instinctual acting styles of the Romantics.Félix completely rejected the Romantic Drama movement happening innineteenth-century France. She was best known for her portrayal of the titlerole in Phèdre.

Death

Félix's healthdeclined after a long tour of Russia. She died early in 1858, aged 36, fromtuberculosis in Le Cannet, Alpes-Maritimes, France.

Legacy

Upon herdeathbed, she wrote many farewell letters to her sons, family members, lovers,colleagues and theatre connections at Comédie-Française. She is buried in amausoleum in the Jewish part of Père Lachaise Cemetery and fr: Avenue Rachelin Paris was named after her.

The Englishtheatre critic James Agate published a biography of her in 1928, which echoesthe anti-Semitism of his day.

A modern accountof her life and legacy by Rachel Brownstein was published in 1995.

The character"Vashti" in Charlotte Brontë's novel Villette was reportedlybased on Félix, whom Brontë had seen perform in London.

Please email any questions -

1841 RACHEL FELIX AUTOGRAPH LETTER THANKS FOR PORTRAIT FRENCH ACTRESS ICON

$389.99