I found my way to this amazingly beautiful lady beginning with Colette. Colette lead me to best friend Misia Sert and Misia's husband, whose lover Genevieve "Ginette"Lantelme was. Misia was extremely jelaous of the actress in a way I also know, and I think many women do - she wanted to BE Lantelme. Wanted to look like her, move like her, speak like her. It was jelaousy and fascination. Proust used this as the model for Gilberte's jealousy of Rachel and Saint-Loup in his most famous book.
But I believe nor Misia nor we would like to have Genevieve's end - she died falling down from her lover's (then already husband's) yacht at the age of 28.
Born in 1883 as Mathilde Hortense Claire Fossey...
At fourteen she was one of the lures at her mother's brothel, but soon became an acclaimed Paris actress. Theatregoers savoured her reputation for enjoying the bodies of men and women with equal pleasure: her languid slouch was imitated by other Parisian vamps.
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| by Giovanni Boldini |
