The house
where the novelist Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) lived for some seven years
(1840-47) has recently been reopened after some restoration works. This is
where he finalised a large part of his famous “La Comédie Humaine”, some 91
stories, novels, essays… How many have you read? I have only read one, “The Père
Goriot” (Old Goriot).
Balzac always
lived beyond his means and, as he now and then had some unwanted visitors, he was happy to live in a house with several exits,
including to the small narrow street on the back side. We are in the Passy area
of Paris, in the 16th arrondissement, and this old little house is
now surrounded by fashionable apartment buildings.
The story
of his life can be read on the walls of this little museum and there is also
explained and showed how he meticulously modified and rectified his own texts,
until they were at last published.
Some of his
belongings can be seen, including his working chair and table, a coffee pot (he
drank a lot of coffee), a very (too) expensive cane, one of his own pocket
watches and one having belonged to the lady, the countess Ewelina Hanska, who
he had know for a long time and who became his wife by the end of his
life.
We can see
part of his library.
In 1847 he
and Mme Hanska moved into a nice building (bought with her money) in the 8th
arrondissement, on what now is rue Balzac. The building is gone, but the museum
shows its exterior and interior on paintings and also a mantelpiece, a door… which have
been saved from the building which has disappeared..
Balzac died
at the age of 51. We can see what he looked like on a daguerreotype
from 1842 – he was 43. The museum shows a number of busts, medals, drawings… of
him. You can find him again at the Père Lachaise cemetery (bust by David
d’Angers).
His statue
(by Falguière) can be found close to where his last home was situated.
Of course,
there is also a (less flattering) statue by Rodin to be found in the Montparnasse
area, but we must remember that Rodin was only ten when Balzac died, so Balzac
obviously never posed for him.. Rodin even made a naked Balzac – to be seen in
Rodin’s Meudon Museum.
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2 comments:
Did Balzac build that house? Or did he just rent it? Whichever way, already that house was not in such a shabby neighbourhood. Not such an absent minded idea of Monsieur Balzac's choosing it, because right behind it is the former home of the incredibly rich Princesse de Lamballe, Marie Antoinette's beloved, loyal friend.
Lovely post, Peter.
Thank you so much.
P.S.
In Balzac's own words, taken from Anka Muhlstein's book "Balzac's Omelette":
It is widely known that Balzac drank large quantities of extremely strong coffee, not only to keep sleep at bay but also to sustain a state of excitement conducive to creativity.
Thanks to coffee, he claimed, "ideas swing into action like battalions in the Great Army on a battlefield...Memories enlist at the double...and flashes of inspiration join the skirmish; faces take form; the paper is soon covered in ink."
Thanks for your comments. Well, I talked about the Princeess Lamballe in a previous post: http://www.peter-pho2.com/2013/08/hotel-de-lamballe.html
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