jenni, Author at New York City Art Museum Tours

31 May Josephine, the Mistress who Became Empress

Posted at 10:20h in art history, French women by jenni

Josephine de Beauharnais (Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie) 1763-1814 was born to a wealthy family growing sugarcane on the island of Martinique. At 15, a fortune teller predicted she would “become more than a queen.” When hurricanes destroyed the family plantation, it was arranged...

06 Mar Frédéric Chopin and George Sand

Posted at 10:58h in art history, Paris, Shady Ladies by jenni

Based in part on a Shady Ladies lecture by Edith de Beauville and historian Professor Andrew Lear George Sand (born Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin-1804-1876), was one of the most popular writers of her era, respected and befriended by peers Honoré de Balzac, Victor Hugo, Gustave Flaubert, Ivan...

04 Nov Love in the Louvre Zoom Tour of the Metropolitan

Posted at 03:29h in French women, Louvre Museum, Paris, Paris tour, Women's History by jenni

Paris is the city of love, and the Louvre is its centerpiece. Learn about the theme of love in this palace full of masterpieces! The Louvre is full of love stories, because all through the centuries, love has inspired French artists. Discover the love secrets...

16 May The scandalous story of Harriett Wilson

Posted at 03:16h in courtesans, royal mistresses, Shady Ladies by jenni

An infamous courtesan who took London by storm with her sisters Amy and Sophia, Harriet was the daughter of a humble Swiss clock maker. By the age of 15, she had already elevated herself as the mistress of the Earl of Craven. When that liaison...

10 Jun The Courtesans And The Art Of Male Maintenance

Posted at 23:21h in courtesans, Shady Ladies, Women's History by jenni

Lady Cavendish of the Devonshire clan pronounced one of their kind to be “a woman of notorious, shameless character.” The memoir of another was said to be a “list of dirty laundry.” In sixteenth century Venice, Sumptuary Laws forbade them from flaunting in public the gold, silver, silks, and gemstones that were the spoils of their sorcery. Nor were they allowed to “stand, kneel, or sit on the benches that in the church are occupied by noblewomen … taking care not to give offence to other decent persons.”

05 Jun The Queen of Courtesans, Imperia Cognati

Posted at 22:32h in art history, courtesans, Metropolitan Museum by jenni

Imperia Cognati (also called Imperia La Divina, meaning Imperia The Divine, or The Queen of Courtesans, 3 August 1486 - 15 August 1512), was a Roman courtesan. She has been considered the first celebrity of the class of courtesans, which was created in Rome in the late 15th century.

27 Apr The Scandalous Life of Duchess of Berry

Posted at 03:24h in art history, Metropolitan Museum, Shady Ladies, Women's History by jenni

The scandalous Duchess of Berry was born as Marie Louise Élisabeth d’Orleans on 20 August 1695 at the Palace of Versailles to Philippe II, Duke of Orléans and Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, who was a legitimized daughter of Louis XIV of France. She was near death several...

23 Apr Watch: Virginia Hall America’s Most Successful Female Spy

Posted at 01:58h in nasty women, Shady Ladies, Women's History by jenni

Virginia Hall, a one-legged socialite from Baltimore whom the CIA Museum would later hail as the office’s most successful American female spy of the Second World War. She was the most highly decorated female civilian during World War II. Watch and learn more about this...

23 Apr Watch: The Tragic Story of Audrey Munson

Posted at 01:48h in art history, beauty standards, fashion, fashion history, Metropolitan Museum, Shady Ladies, Women's History by jenni

Not many people know Audrey Munson by name—but if you’ve spent any time in New York City, you’ve seen her face. Munson’s likeness tops some of the city’s grandest buildings. Even when she is remembered, it’s often for the more scandalous and tragic events in...

21 Apr Portrait of Pianist Misia Sert

Posted at 02:08h in art history, fashion history, Metropolitan Museum, Women's History by jenni

Misia Sert was an accomplished pianist--a student of Fauré's, who helped her support herself by referring students to her, she also famously accompanied Caruso at parties when he sang Neapolitan songs. But she was most famous as a salonnière, one of the women who ran...

Author: jenni