Charlotte de Rothschild
Encyclopedia
Charlotte de Rothschild (May 6, 1825 – July 20, 1899) was a French socialite
, painter
, and a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of France
. She was born in Paris, the daughter of Betty von Rothschild (1805-1868) and James Mayer de Rothschild
(1792-1868). Charlotte de Rothschild was raised by very wealthy parents who were at the center of Parisian culture. They patronized a number of major figures in the arts community including Gioacchino Rossini
, Frédéric Chopin
, Honoré de Balzac
, Eugène Delacroix
, and Heinrich Heine
. As an acknowledgment of the many years of support extended by Baron James and his wife Betty, in 1847 Chopin dedicated his Valse Op. 64, N° 2 in C sharp minor to Charlotte.
In 1842, she married her English-born
cousin Nathaniel de Rothschild
(1812-1870) and in 1850 they moved to Paris where he went to work at her father's bank, de Rothschild Frères. They were the parents of:
While Charlotte de Rothschild and her husband would always live in Paris, in 1853 they purchased the Château Brane-Mouton vineyard
that they renamed Château Mouton Rothschild
. In 1878, Charlotte bought the Abbaye des Vaux de Cernay in Cernay-la-Ville
in the Vallée de Chevreuse
, at the time only a ruins of a Cistercian abbey
built in 1118. She undertook extensive restoration work and new construction to make the lakeside property into a country home. The property remained in family hands until 1945 when it was by sold by her grandson Henri James de Rothschild to aircraft manufacturer Félix Amiot
.
Like her father, Charlotte de Rothschild was a collector of art and grew up around his artistic friends. As an adult, Charlotte would count amongst her friends the likes of Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Henri Rousseau
, and Édouard Manet
. Her art purchases included works by Henri Fantin-Latour
, Louis-Léopold Boilly
, Anthony van Dyck
plus a number by Rococo painters
Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin
, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
and François Boucher
. However, Charlotte de Rothschild's interest in art went beyond collecting. Talented in her own right, she studied with Nélie Jacquemart
(1841-1912) and would earn respect for her landscape paintings, watercolors and engravings, enough so that she is recognized in the Benezit Dictionary of Artists
. In the 1860s, she exhibited at the annual salon of the Société des aquarellistes français, then in 1872 at the Paris Salon
as well as at an 1879 exhibition in London. Although a minor artist, her work has been on display at the Musée du Luxembourg
in Paris and other museums around France. Her illuminated Haggadah of Pesach
is in the Braginsky Collection
.
Charlotte de Rothschild's interest extended to music, entertaining musician friends such as Georges Bizet
and Camille Saint-Saëns
.
Tragedy struck her family in 1881 when she lost her eldest surviving child, thirty-seven-year-old James-Edouard. An attorney in the Rothschild bank in Paris, James-Edouard de Rothschild had served in the Garde Mobile
during the Franco-Prussian War
and suffered from a number of illnesses, including depression
that led to his suicide
.
Charlotte de Rothschild's lifetime of involvement in art and music would greatly influence her offspring, producing writers, actors and playwrights.
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
, painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, and a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of France
Rothschild banking family of France
The Rothschild banking family of France was founded in 1812 in Paris by James Mayer Rothschild . James was sent there from his home in Frankfurt, Germany by his father, Mayer Amschel Rothschild...
. She was born in Paris, the daughter of Betty von Rothschild (1805-1868) and James Mayer de Rothschild
James Mayer de Rothschild
James Mayer de Rothschild was a French banker and the original founder of the French branch of the Rothschild family.-Biography:...
(1792-1868). Charlotte de Rothschild was raised by very wealthy parents who were at the center of Parisian culture. They patronized a number of major figures in the arts community including Gioacchino Rossini
Gioacchino Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini was an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as sacred music, chamber music, songs, and some instrumental and piano pieces...
, Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
, Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
, Eugène Delacroix
Eugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school...
, and Heinrich Heine
Heinrich Heine
Christian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann...
. As an acknowledgment of the many years of support extended by Baron James and his wife Betty, in 1847 Chopin dedicated his Valse Op. 64, N° 2 in C sharp minor to Charlotte.
In 1842, she married her English-born
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
cousin Nathaniel de Rothschild
Nathaniel de Rothschild
Nathaniel de Rothschild, , known as "Nat," was the founder of the French wine-making branch of the Rothschild family.-Family:...
(1812-1870) and in 1850 they moved to Paris where he went to work at her father's bank, de Rothschild Frères. They were the parents of:
- Nathalie de Rothschild (1843-1843)
- James-Edouard de Rothschild (1844-1881)
- Mayer Albert de Rothschild (1846-1850)
- Arthur de RothschildArthur de RothschildBaron Arthur de Rothschild was part of the French branch of the prominent Rothschild family. He was the son of Nathaniel de Rothschild and Charlotte de Rothschild . He was a prominent philatelist and published a book on the subject...
(1851-1903)
While Charlotte de Rothschild and her husband would always live in Paris, in 1853 they purchased the Château Brane-Mouton vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
that they renamed Château Mouton Rothschild
Château Mouton Rothschild
Château Mouton Rothschild is a wine estate located in the village of Pauillac in the Médoc, 50 km north-west of the city of Bordeaux, France. Its red wine of the same name is regarded as one of the world's greatest clarets. Originally known as Château Brane-Mouton it was renamed by Nathaniel...
. In 1878, Charlotte bought the Abbaye des Vaux de Cernay in Cernay-la-Ville
Cernay-la-Ville
Cernay-la-Ville is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-References:*...
in the Vallée de Chevreuse
Vallée de Chevreuse
Vallée de Chevreuse is the name given to the valley of the Yvette River, flowing though the Yvelines and Essonne departments....
, at the time only a ruins of a Cistercian abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
built in 1118. She undertook extensive restoration work and new construction to make the lakeside property into a country home. The property remained in family hands until 1945 when it was by sold by her grandson Henri James de Rothschild to aircraft manufacturer Félix Amiot
Félix Amiot
Félix Amiot was a French aircraft constructor.Amiot's first aircraft was built in a Paris garage in 1913, but it was not until 1916, during the First World War, that he became seriously involved in construction. The Minister of Defence granted a contract to SECM , owned by the Wertheimer brothers,...
.
Like her father, Charlotte de Rothschild was a collector of art and grew up around his artistic friends. As an adult, Charlotte would count amongst her friends the likes of Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Henri Rousseau
Henri Rousseau
Henri Julien Félix Rousseau was a French Post-Impressionist painter in the Naïve or Primitive manner. He was also known as Le Douanier , a humorous description of his occupation as a toll collector...
, and Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet was a French painter. One of the first 19th-century artists to approach modern-life subjects, he was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism....
. Her art purchases included works by Henri Fantin-Latour
Henri Fantin-Latour
Henri Fantin-Latour was a French painter and lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers.-Biography:...
, Louis-Léopold Boilly
Léopold Boilly
Louis-Léopold Boilly was a French painter and draftsman. A gifted creator of popular portrait paintings, he also produced a vast number of genre paintings vividly documenting French middle-class social life...
, Anthony van Dyck
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...
plus a number by Rococo painters
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin
Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin
Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin was an 18th-century French painter. He is considered a master of still life, and is also noted for his genre paintings which depict kitchen maids, children, and domestic activities...
, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo , also known as Gianbattista or Giambattista Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice...
and François Boucher
François Boucher
François Boucher was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste, known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories representing the arts or pastoral occupations, intended as a sort of two-dimensional furniture...
. However, Charlotte de Rothschild's interest in art went beyond collecting. Talented in her own right, she studied with Nélie Jacquemart
Nélie Jacquemart
Nélie Jacquemart was a French painter.A student of Léon Cogniet Jacquemart was best known for her portraits of famous personalities.In 1872 she met banker Édouard André at a portrait session, whom she eventually married in 1881....
(1841-1912) and would earn respect for her landscape paintings, watercolors and engravings, enough so that she is recognized in the Benezit Dictionary of Artists
Benezit Dictionary of Artists
The Benezit Dictionary of Artists is an extensive publication of bibliographical information on painters, sculptors, designers and engravers created primarily for art museums, auction houses, historians and dealers...
. In the 1860s, she exhibited at the annual salon of the Société des aquarellistes français, then in 1872 at the Paris Salon
Paris Salon
The Salon , or rarely Paris Salon , beginning in 1725 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Between 1748–1890 it was the greatest annual or biannual art event in the Western world...
as well as at an 1879 exhibition in London. Although a minor artist, her work has been on display at the Musée du Luxembourg
Musée du Luxembourg
Musée du Luxembourg is a museum in Paris, France. It occupies the east wing of the Palais du Luxembourg, whose matching west wing originally housed Ruben's Marie de' Medici cycle. Since 2000 it has been run by the French Ministry of Culture and the Senate and is devoted to temporary exhibitions...
in Paris and other museums around France. Her illuminated Haggadah of Pesach
Haggadah of Pesach
The Haggadah is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. Reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the Scriptural commandment to each Jew to "tell your son" of the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt as described in the Book of Exodus in the Torah...
is in the Braginsky Collection
Braginsky Collection
The Braginsky Collection is a notable private collection of Jewish manuscripts and books. René Braginsky is the Swiss collector.The oldest manuscript in the collection is the 1288 legal code of rabbinic scholar Moses of Coucy....
.
Charlotte de Rothschild's interest extended to music, entertaining musician friends such as Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
and Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
.
Tragedy struck her family in 1881 when she lost her eldest surviving child, thirty-seven-year-old James-Edouard. An attorney in the Rothschild bank in Paris, James-Edouard de Rothschild had served in the Garde Mobile
Garde Mobile
During the crises that led up to the Franco-Prussian War, Adolphe Niel, Minister of War for France under Louis-Napoleon attempted to bolster French military might by bringing into existence a service which would provide reserves to be added to the French army...
during the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
and suffered from a number of illnesses, including depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
that led to his suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.
Charlotte de Rothschild's lifetime of involvement in art and music would greatly influence her offspring, producing writers, actors and playwrights.