La comtesse et les photographes - portraits of the comtesse Greffulhe by Nadar and Wegener

 

Photograph by Otto Wegener, 1900.

Countess Marie Anatole Louise Élisabeth Greffulhe (née de Riquet de Caraman-Chimay; 11 July 1860 – 21 August 1952), French aristocrat, renowned beauty, hostess - the habitués of her salon in the rue d'Astorg were the cream of Parisian society and the arts - and patroness; she was, of course, immortalized as one of the main inspirations for the character of the duchesse de Guermantes in Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu.

Photograph by Nadar, 1883. The comtesse is said to be wearing a gown that had belonged to her great-grandmother, the infamous Madame Tallien.

Nadar, 1886. With her daughter and only child, Elaine (19 March 1882 – 11 February 1958), later duchesse de Gramont.

Nadar, circa 1887.

Nadar, 1887.

Wegener, 1887. (Two images.)

The above was produced as a carte-de-visite. (actual size)

Nadar, 1895.

Nadar, 1896. (Two images.)

Wegener, 1896.

Nadar, circa 1890s. (Two images.)

Wegener, double exposure, 1899.

Wegener, 1908. With her daughter Élaine, now duchesse de Gramont.

Wegener, 1900. (Detail.)