Catherine Hessling
Encyclopedia
Catherine Hessling was a French
actress and the first wife of film director Jean Renoir
. Hessling appeared in 15, mostly silent, films before retiring from the acting profession and withdrawing from public life in the mid-1930s.
during World War I
. In 1917, her beauty came to the attention of Henri Matisse
, who sent her to fellow artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir
as he thought she looked like a suitable Renoir subject. Hessling modelled, sometimes naked, for Renoir until his death in December 1919. Renoir's second son, Jean
, fell in love with Hessling, and the couple married on 24 January 1920. Hessling gave birth to a son, Alain, on 31 October 1921.
Jean Renoir had been planning a career in ceramic art
, but decided instead to try his hand in the medium of film in order, he would later claim, to try to make Hessling a star. While both were aficionados of American films, and Hessling would copy fashions and behaviour she saw on the screen, she had in fact never had any thought or ambition to become an actress herself.
Renoir produced his first script, Catherine, in 1924. Albert Dieudonné
would direct the film. Renoir devised for Hessling a very stark, exaggerated look, with the mouth and eyes a penetrating black against white facial make-up, which was again used in his first full-length film La Fille de l'eau, and the lavish and costly 1926 adaptation of Emile Zola
's Nana
, in which Hessling's performance has been described as characteristically stylised and unsubtle, but yet appropriate for this role.
Hessling would appear in three more Renoir films before the couple separated in 1931. It was rumoured that she had expected to play the role of Lulu in Renoir's sound film La Chienne
, and felt betrayed when the film's producers insisted on, and Renoir agreed to, another actress (Janie Marèse
) in the role. Following the couple's separation (divorce would not be finalised until 1943), Hessling appeared in minor roles in three sound films, and had a brief career as a dancer, before abandoning showbusiness completely. She lived the rest of her life thereafter out of the public eye.
Hessling died in suburban Paris
on 28 September 1979, aged 79. Jean Renoir had died in California
earlier the same year.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
actress and the first wife of film director Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s...
. Hessling appeared in 15, mostly silent, films before retiring from the acting profession and withdrawing from public life in the mid-1930s.
Biography
Hessling, born in Champagne-Ardennes, had sought refuge in NiceNice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In 1917, her beauty came to the attention of Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...
, who sent her to fellow artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to...
as he thought she looked like a suitable Renoir subject. Hessling modelled, sometimes naked, for Renoir until his death in December 1919. Renoir's second son, Jean
Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s...
, fell in love with Hessling, and the couple married on 24 January 1920. Hessling gave birth to a son, Alain, on 31 October 1921.
Jean Renoir had been planning a career in ceramic art
Ceramic art
In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
, but decided instead to try his hand in the medium of film in order, he would later claim, to try to make Hessling a star. While both were aficionados of American films, and Hessling would copy fashions and behaviour she saw on the screen, she had in fact never had any thought or ambition to become an actress herself.
Renoir produced his first script, Catherine, in 1924. Albert Dieudonné
Albert Dieudonné
Albert Dieudonné was a French actor, screenwriter, film director and novelist.Dieudonné was born in Paris, France and made his acting debut in silent film in 1908 for The Assassination of the Duke of Guise, with musical score by Camille Saint-Saëns. In 1924, he directed the film drama, "Catherine"...
would direct the film. Renoir devised for Hessling a very stark, exaggerated look, with the mouth and eyes a penetrating black against white facial make-up, which was again used in his first full-length film La Fille de l'eau, and the lavish and costly 1926 adaptation of Emile Zola
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
's Nana
Nana (1926 film)
Nana is Jean Renoir's second full-length silent film and is based on the novel by Émile Zola.-Plot:A government official, Count Muffat, falls under the spell of Nana, a young actress. She becomes his mistress, living in the sumptuous apartment which he provides for her...
, in which Hessling's performance has been described as characteristically stylised and unsubtle, but yet appropriate for this role.
Hessling would appear in three more Renoir films before the couple separated in 1931. It was rumoured that she had expected to play the role of Lulu in Renoir's sound film La Chienne
La Chienne
La Chienne is a French film by director Jean Renoir. It is the second sound film by the director and the twelfth of his career.The literal English translation of the film's title is "The Bitch", although the movie was never released under this title...
, and felt betrayed when the film's producers insisted on, and Renoir agreed to, another actress (Janie Marèse
Janie Marèse
Janie Marèse was a French actress who appeared in four shorts and three feature-length films, most notably Jean Renoir's second sound film La Chienne, before her premature death, aged 23, in a road accident.- Career :Marèse made her first screen appearance in a 1929...
) in the role. Following the couple's separation (divorce would not be finalised until 1943), Hessling appeared in minor roles in three sound films, and had a brief career as a dancer, before abandoning showbusiness completely. She lived the rest of her life thereafter out of the public eye.
Hessling died in suburban Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on 28 September 1979, aged 79. Jean Renoir had died in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
earlier the same year.
Filmography
- 1924 : Catherine ou Une vie sans Joie - dir. Albert DieudonnéAlbert DieudonnéAlbert Dieudonné was a French actor, screenwriter, film director and novelist.Dieudonné was born in Paris, France and made his acting debut in silent film in 1908 for The Assassination of the Duke of Guise, with musical score by Camille Saint-Saëns. In 1924, he directed the film drama, "Catherine"...
- 1925 : La Fille de l'eauLa Fille de l'eauLa Fille de l'eau , also known by the English title The Whirlpool of Fate , is a silent film that was shot by Jean Renoir and featured Catherine Hessling for its heroine....
- dir. Jean RenoirJean RenoirJean Renoir was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s... - 1926 : NanaNana (1926 film)Nana is Jean Renoir's second full-length silent film and is based on the novel by Émile Zola.-Plot:A government official, Count Muffat, falls under the spell of Nana, a young actress. She becomes his mistress, living in the sumptuous apartment which he provides for her...
- dir. Jean Renoir - 1927 : La P'tite Lili - dir. Alberto CavalcantiAlberto CavalcantiAlberto de Almeida Cavalcanti was a Brazilian-born film director and producer.-Early life:Cavalcanti was born in Rio de Janeiro, the son of a prominent mathematician. He was a precociously intelligent child, and by the age of 15 was studying law at university. Following an argument with a...
- 1927 : Sur un air de charleston - dir. Jean Renoir
- 1928 : Yvette - dir. Alberto Cavalcanti
- 1928 : La Petite Marchande d'allumettes - dir. Jean Renoir
- 1928 : En rade - dir. Alberto Cavalcanti
- 1928 : Tire-au-flanc - dir. Jean Renoir
- 1929 : Le Petit Chaperon rouge - dir. Alberto Cavalcanti
- 1929 : Vous verrez la semaine prochaine - dir. Alberto Cavalcanti
- 1930 : Die Jagd nach dem Glück - dir. Rochus Gliese, Carl Koch and Lotte ReinigerLotte ReinigerCharlotte "Lotte" Reiniger was a German silhouette animator and film director.- Early life :Lotte Reiniger was born in Berlin-Charlottenburg, German Empire, on June 2, 1899...
- 1933 : Du haut en basHigh and Low (1933 film)High and Low is a 1933 French drama film directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst.-Cast:* Ariane Borg – * Pauline Carton – Seamstress* Janine Crispin – Marie de Ferstel * Christiane Delyne* Jean Gabin – Charles Boulla...
- dir. Georg Wilhelm PabstGeorg Wilhelm Pabst-Biography:Pabst was born in Raudnitz, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary , the son of a railroad employee.Returning from the United States, he was in France when World War I began... - 1933 : Coralie et Cie - dir. Alberto Cavalcanti
- 1935 : Crime et châtiment - dir. Pierre ChenalPierre ChenalPierre Chenal was a French director and screenwriter who flourished in the 1930s, and was best known for film noir thrillers such as the 1937 film L’Alibi, where he worked with Erich von Stroheim and Louis Jouvet. In 1939 he made Le Dernier Tournant, the first of many film treatments of James M...