Juliette Drouet

Juliette Drouet, born Julienne as Gauvain ( born April 10, 1806 Fougères, † 1883 in Paris) was a French actress and the muse of Victor Hugo.

Life

After shortly after her birth mother, a year her father had died first out she was accepted by her uncle René Drouet, who later became a strict Catholic boarding school handed over the child. Around 1825 it was model, friend and muse of sculptor James Pradier, who was also the father of her daughter. Pradier encouraged them to 1829 to begin an acting training that led them temporarily to Brussels. Back in Paris, she took the name of his uncle Drouet and was here quickly a celebrated actress. 1833 saw the poet Victor Hugo in the role of the Princess Negroni in Lucrezia Borgia and was overwhelmed and soon falls in love with her. Your fared no differently. She left not only her friend but also ended her acting career, only to devote himself exclusively Victor Hugo, as a muse, lover and editor. In the following years she left the house barely and if, then only in his company. 1852 she accompanied him in his exile in Jersey and then again in 1855 to Guernsey. Juliette Drouet was buried in the small Cimetière Nord in Saint- Mandé.

Juliette Drouet wrote Victor Hugo over the decades thousands of letters. The writer Henri Troyat has read it, recognized on great literature and wrote a 1997 monograph about them.

Parisians and tourists Juliette Drouet is still present today. On the Place de la Concorde she sits for over 150 years, raised on a gun barrel and looks at the hustle and bustle from above. James Pradier Madame Strasbourg created by their example.

Gallery

Juliette Drouet as Princess Negroni