Clémentine Jouassain
Clémentine Jouassain | |
|---|---|
 Clémentine Jouassain as photographed by Félix Nadar in about 1873 | |
| Born | Catherine-Julie-Clémentine Jouassain 3 December 1829 Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat |
| Died | 7 May 1902 Paris |
| Occupation | Actress |
Catherine-Julie-Clémentine Jouassain, baronne de Tournière (3 December 1829 – 7 May 1902) was a French actress, a societaire of the Comédie-Française.
Early life
[edit]Joassain was born in Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, near Limoges, the daughter of Léonard Jouassain and Marie Masrevery. Her father was a merchant.[1] She studied at the Conservatoire in Paris, a student of Joseph Isidore Samson.[2][3]
Career
[edit]Jouassain debuted with the Comédie-Française in 1851,[4] and became a societaire in 1863. She was called "reine des duègnes" (Queen of the Duennas), because she almost always played supporting characters; she was not considered to have the face or physique for leading roles.[5] She was cast in plays by Jean Racine, Molière and Victor Hugo,[6] and was credited as creating dozens of roles.[3] In 1870, Joussain and three other actresses of the Comédie-Française, Madeleine Brohan, Marie Favart and Edile Riquier, announced that they were closing the theatre to open its space as "an ambulance" for treating French casualties during the Siege of Paris.[7] "Excellent above all in Molière and Marivaux, and interesting in everything," commented a London newspaper in 1879, "she is one of the most original, most useful, and most laborious members of the company."[8] She retired from the Comédie with a pension in 1887.[2][3]
Jouassain donated art to the Musée d'Orsay.[9]
Personal life
[edit]In 1876, Joassain married a marine officer, Albert Edouard Olivier de Tournière, and became a baroness.[10] She was a widow when she died in Paris in 1902, aged 72 years,[5] after injuries sustained in a street accident with a bicycle.[2][10]
References
[edit]- ^ "Untitled item". The Examiner. 1877-07-28. p. 26. Retrieved 2021-04-03 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Clémentine Jouassain". Comédie-Française. Archived from the original on 2020-08-08. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
- ^ a b c Gazette anecdotique, littéraire, artistique et bibliographique (in French). 1887. pp. 131–133.
- ^ Charavay, Étienne (1899). L'Amateur d'autographes (in French). E. Charavay. p. 123.
- ^ a b Duquesnel, Félix (June 1902). "La Quinzaine Théâtrale". Le Théâtre (in French): 4.
- ^ "Répertoire des Rôles Interprétés par Clémentine Jouassain". La Comédie-Franc̦aise (in French). Plon-Nourrit. 1902. pp. 141–154.
- ^ "Paris and the War". The Athenaeum. 2961: 369. September 17, 1870.
- ^ "The Comédie-Française in London; II: The Actresses (continued)". The Pall Mall Gazette. 1879-05-24. p. 12. Retrieved 2021-04-03 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Paysage d'Ecosse avec des ruines : Loch Müke". Musée du Louvre. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
- ^ a b "Nécrologie". L'Art: Revue mensuelle illustrée. 61: 260. 1902.
External links
[edit]- An etched illustration of Jouassain, from an 1876 publication, in the collection of the British Museum
- A photograph of Jouassain, by Léon Crèmiere, in the collection of the Musée Carnavalet
