Thérésa Tallien
Encyclopedia
Thérésa Cabarrus, Madame Tallien (31 July 1773 – 15 January 1835), was a French
social figure during the Revolution
. Later she became Princess of Chimay
.
, Madrid
, Spain
to François Cabarrus
, a French financier
, and María Antonia Galabert, the daughter of a French industrialist based in Spain. Thérésa's father founded and governed the bank of San Carlos, which became the Royal Bank of Spain
, and was King Joseph I of Spain
's Minister of Finance. In 1789, he was knight
ed by King Charles IV of Spain
with the title of count
.
From 1778 to 1783, Thérésa was raised by nun
s in France. She was a student of the painter Jean-Baptiste Isabey
. She returned home to the family castle briefly in 1785, and then her father sent her back to France at twelve years old to complete her education and get married.
The first of her many love affairs was with Alexandre de Laborde
; however, the young couple was forced to separate as de Laborde's powerful father, Jean-Joseph de Laborde
, disapproved of her. Cabarrus then arranged
for his "very beautiful" daughter to marry a rich, powerful Frenchman in order to strengthen his position in France. On February 21, 1788, Thérésa was married to Jean Jacques Devin Fontenay (1762–1817), the last Marquis de Fontenay, a wealthy aristocrat described as small, red and ugly. The bride was fourteen years old. Even though in the 1780s Thérésa had begun to take an interest in Liberalism
and the principles of the Revolution, she was presented at the court of King Louis XVI
. The newlyweds visited the royal court of Spain as well. On May 2, 1789, Thérésa had a son, Devin Théodore de Fontenay (1789–1815), whose father was perhaps Felix le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, brother of Louis-Michel le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau.
When her husband fled at the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789, she resumed her maiden name and obtained a divorce
in 1791. She took refuge in Bordeaux
, where she was arrested and jailed as the former wife of an émigré
aristocrat. She met Jean Lambert Tallien, the Commissary of the National Convention
, who saved her from the guillotine
, and became his mistress
; through his influence, Thérésa Tallien obtained the release of many prisoners. She accompanied him when he was recalled to Paris
, only to be imprisoned on Maximilien Robespierre
's orders first in La Force prison
, then in Carmes prison where she met Joséphine de Beauharnais
. She married Tallien on 26 December 1794. She and Tallien had a daughter, Thermidor Tallien (1795–1862) who married Count Felix de Narbonne-Pelet in 1815.
, she earned the moniker Notre-Dame de Thermidor ("Our Lady of Thermidor") as the person who was most likely to intervene in favor of the detained.
Thérésa became one of the leaders of the Parisian social life. Her salon
was famous and she was one of the originators of the Neo-Grec
women's fashion
of the French Directory
period. She was a very colorful figure; one story is that she was said to bathe in the juice of strawberries
for their healing properties. She once arrived at the Tuileries Palace
, the then chief residence of Napoleon Bonaparte
, supported by a black page, with eight sapphire
rings and six toe rings, a gold
bracelet on each ankle and nine bracelets on each arm. To top the look off Theresa had a head band covered in rubies. On another occasion she appeared at the Paris Opera
wearing a white silk
dress without sleeves and not wearing any underwear. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand commented: "Il n'est pas possible de s'exposer plus somptueusement!" ("It is not possible to exhibit oneself more sumptuously!").
(with whom she had four children); and finally, attempting to regain respectability and to get away from Paris, she married François-Joseph-Philippe de Riquet
, Comte de Caraman, on 22 August 1805 - he had become the sixteenth Prince of Chimay after the death of his childless uncle in 1804. She spent the rest of her life first in Paris, then on the Chimay
estates (now in Belgium
). After the Battle of Waterloo
in 1815, these became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands
.
She had become one of the most famous women of her age, and she resented this role. Once when she appeared at the Louvre accompanied by her children, so many spectators flocked to see her up close, that she had to escape down a staircase to save herself. The marriage to Caraman meant that she returned to the class in which she had been born - and educated.
The couple invited musicians such as Daniel Auber
, Rodolphe Kreutzer
, Luigi Cherubini
, Charles de Bériot
and Maria Malibran
to Paris and later to Chimay, where Thérésa held a little court. Cherubini composed his Mass in fa at their castle there.
Thérésa died in Chimay, where she was interred with François-Joseph de Riquet under the sacristy
of the local church where a memorial stands to her memory. She bore ten children during her various liaisons, including Joseph de Riquet, first son of François-Joseph-Philippe, who became the seventeenth Prince of Chimay
in 1843.
Ouvrard was allegedly the father of four of her children, born during her marriage to Tallien:
She and Riquet had three children together:
's novel, The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
social figure during the Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. Later she became Princess of Chimay
Prince de Chimay
Prince de Chimay is a noble title associated with Chimay in what is now Belgium. It is presently held by Philippe de Caraman-Chimay, 22nd Prince de Chimay.-Counts of Chimay:*1 Jean II de Croÿ, comte de Chimay...
.
Early life
She was born Juana María Ignazia Teresa de Cabarrús y Galabert in Carabanchel AltoCarabanchel
Carabanchel is a district in the south western suburbs of Madrid, Spain.-Overview:The area was the scene of fierce fighting during the Spanish Civil War -especially in November 1936, during the Battle of Madrid, when Nationalist troops tried to fight their way into the area. Unacustomed to street...
, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
to François Cabarrus
François Cabarrus
François Cabarrus or Francisco Cabarrús Lalanne, conde de Cabarrús was a French adventurer and Spanish financier.-Early life:...
, a French financier
Financier
Financier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...
, and María Antonia Galabert, the daughter of a French industrialist based in Spain. Thérésa's father founded and governed the bank of San Carlos, which became the Royal Bank of Spain
Banco de España
The Bank of Spain , is the national central bank of Spain. Established in Madrid in 1782 by Charles III, today the bank is a member of the European System of Central Banks.-History:...
, and was King Joseph I of Spain
Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte was the elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, who made him King of Naples and Sicily , and later King of Spain...
's Minister of Finance. In 1789, he was knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed by King Charles IV of Spain
Charles IV of Spain
Charles IV was King of Spain from 14 December 1788 until his abdication on 19 March 1808.-Early life:...
with the title of count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
.
From 1778 to 1783, Thérésa was raised by nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s in France. She was a student of the painter Jean-Baptiste Isabey
Jean-Baptiste Isabey
Jean-Baptiste Isabey was a French painter born at Nancy.At nineteen, after some lessons from Dumont, miniature painter to Marie Antoinette, he became a pupil of Jacques-Louis David...
. She returned home to the family castle briefly in 1785, and then her father sent her back to France at twelve years old to complete her education and get married.
The first of her many love affairs was with Alexandre de Laborde
Alexandre de Laborde
Comte Louis-Joseph-Alexandre de Laborde was a French antiquary, liberal politician and writer, a member of the Académie des Sciences morales et politiques , under the rubric political economy.-Early years:...
; however, the young couple was forced to separate as de Laborde's powerful father, Jean-Joseph de Laborde
Jean-Joseph de Laborde
- Biography:Laborde was born near Jaca in Aragon, into a modest béarnaise family. When he reached adolescence he joined his uncle, who was head of a maritime import-export company at Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and took over as head of the business on the cousin's death...
, disapproved of her. Cabarrus then arranged
Arranged marriage
An arranged marriage is a practice in which someone other than the couple getting married makes the selection of the persons to be wed, meanwhile curtailing or avoiding the process of courtship. Such marriages had deep roots in royal and aristocratic families around the world...
for his "very beautiful" daughter to marry a rich, powerful Frenchman in order to strengthen his position in France. On February 21, 1788, Thérésa was married to Jean Jacques Devin Fontenay (1762–1817), the last Marquis de Fontenay, a wealthy aristocrat described as small, red and ugly. The bride was fourteen years old. Even though in the 1780s Thérésa had begun to take an interest in Liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and the principles of the Revolution, she was presented at the court of King Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
. The newlyweds visited the royal court of Spain as well. On May 2, 1789, Thérésa had a son, Devin Théodore de Fontenay (1789–1815), whose father was perhaps Felix le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, brother of Louis-Michel le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau.
When her husband fled at the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789, she resumed her maiden name and obtained a divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
in 1791. She took refuge in Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, where she was arrested and jailed as the former wife of an émigré
Émigré
Émigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....
aristocrat. She met Jean Lambert Tallien, the Commissary of the National Convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
, who saved her from the guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
, and became his mistress
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
; through his influence, Thérésa Tallien obtained the release of many prisoners. She accompanied him when he was recalled to 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...
, only to be imprisoned on Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre is one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. He largely dominated the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror, which ended with his...
's orders first in La Force prison
La Force Prison
La Force Prison was a French prison located in the Rue du Roi de Sicile, what is now the 4th arrondissement of Paris.Originally the private residence of the Duke of la Force, the structure was converted into a prison in 1780....
, then in Carmes prison where she met Joséphine de Beauharnais
Joséphine de Beauharnais
Joséphine de Beauharnais was the first wife of Napoléon Bonaparte, and thus the first Empress of the French. Her first husband Alexandre de Beauharnais had been guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and she had been imprisoned in the Carmes prison until her release five days after Alexandre's...
. She married Tallien on 26 December 1794. She and Tallien had a daughter, Thermidor Tallien (1795–1862) who married Count Felix de Narbonne-Pelet in 1815.
Thermidor and Directory
Her husband joined the conspiracy to oust Robespierre, and on July 27, 1794 (9 Thermidor), Thérésa was released. Tallien had arranged her liberation, and soon after that of Joséphine de Beauharnais. Thérésa was a moderating influence on her husband: after the outbreak of the Thermidorian ReactionThermidorian Reaction
The Thermidorian Reaction was a revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror. It was triggered by a vote of the Committee of Public Safety to execute Maximilien Robespierre, Antoine Louis Léon de Saint-Just de Richebourg and several other leading members of the Terror...
, she earned the moniker Notre-Dame de Thermidor ("Our Lady of Thermidor") as the person who was most likely to intervene in favor of the detained.
Thérésa became one of the leaders of the Parisian social life. Her salon
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
was famous and she was one of the originators of the Neo-Grec
Neo-Grec
Neo-Grec is a term referring to late manifestations of Neoclassicism, early Neo-Renaissance now called the Greek Revival style, which was popularized in architecture, the decorative arts, and in painting during France's Second Empire, or the reign of Napoleon III, a period that lasted...
women's fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
of the French Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
period. She was a very colorful figure; one story is that she was said to bathe in the juice of strawberries
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
for their healing properties. She once arrived at the Tuileries Palace
Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace was a royal palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine until 1871, when it was destroyed in the upheaval during the suppression of the Paris Commune...
, the then chief residence of Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
, supported by a black page, with eight sapphire
Sapphire
Sapphire is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide , when it is a color other than red or dark pink; in which case the gem would instead be called a ruby, considered to be a different gemstone. Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give...
rings and six toe rings, a gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
bracelet on each ankle and nine bracelets on each arm. To top the look off Theresa had a head band covered in rubies. On another occasion she appeared at the Paris Opera
Académie Royale de Musique
The Salle Le Peletier was the home of the Paris Opera from 1821 until the building was destroyed by fire in 1873. The theatre was designed and constructed by the architect François Debret on the site of the former Hôtel de Choiseul...
wearing a white silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
dress without sleeves and not wearing any underwear. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand commented: "Il n'est pas possible de s'exposer plus somptueusement!" ("It is not possible to exhibit oneself more sumptuously!").
Marriage to Riquet
Tallien's power waned and he and Thérésa divorced in 1802. After a brief flirtation with Napoleon, she moved first to the powerful Paul Barras, whose former mistress was Napoleon's first wife Joséphine; then to the millionaire speculator Gabriel-Julien OuvrardGabriel-Julien Ouvrard
Gabriel-Julien Ouvrard was a French financier who was born in Moulins d'Antières at Cugand on October 11, 1770 and who died in London in October 1846.- Revolution :...
(with whom she had four children); and finally, attempting to regain respectability and to get away from Paris, she married François-Joseph-Philippe de Riquet
François-Joseph-Philippe de Riquet
François-Joseph-Philippe de Riquet , comte de Caraman was the 16th Prince de Chimay from 24 July 1804 to 1843....
, Comte de Caraman, on 22 August 1805 - he had become the sixteenth Prince of Chimay after the death of his childless uncle in 1804. She spent the rest of her life first in Paris, then on the Chimay
Chimay
Chimay a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006, Chimay had a total population of 9,774. The total area is 197.10 km² which gives a population density of 50 inhabitants per km²...
estates (now in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
). After the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
in 1815, these became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands
United Kingdom of the Netherlands
United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name used to refer to Kingdom of the Netherlands during the period after it was first created from part of the First French Empire and before the new kingdom of Belgium split out in 1830...
.
She had become one of the most famous women of her age, and she resented this role. Once when she appeared at the Louvre accompanied by her children, so many spectators flocked to see her up close, that she had to escape down a staircase to save herself. The marriage to Caraman meant that she returned to the class in which she had been born - and educated.
The couple invited musicians such as Daniel Auber
Daniel Auber
Daniel François Esprit Auber was a French composer.-Biography:The son of a Paris print-seller, Auber was born in Caen in Normandy. Though his father expected him to continue in the print-selling business, he also allowed his son to learn how to play several musical instruments...
, Rodolphe Kreutzer
Rodolphe Kreutzer
Rodolphe Kreutzer was a German violinist, teacher, conductor, and composer of forty French operas.-Biography:...
, Luigi Cherubini
Luigi Cherubini
Luigi Cherubini was an Italian composer who spent most of his working life in France. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the greatest of his contemporaries....
, Charles de Bériot
Charles de Bériot
Charles Auguste de Bériot was a Belgian violinist and composer.-Biography:Born in Leuven, where there is now a street named in his honour, he moved to France in 1810, where he studied violin with Jean-François Tiby, a pupil of Giovanni Battista Viotti...
and Maria Malibran
Maria Malibran
The mezzo-soprano Maria Malibran , was one of the most famous opera singers of the 19th century. Malibran was known for her stormy personality and dramatic intensity, becoming a legendary figure after her death at age 28...
to Paris and later to Chimay, where Thérésa held a little court. Cherubini composed his Mass in fa at their castle there.
Thérésa died in Chimay, where she was interred with François-Joseph de Riquet under the sacristy
Sacristy
A sacristy is a room for keeping vestments and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.The sacristy is usually located inside the church, but in some cases it is an annex or separate building...
of the local church where a memorial stands to her memory. She bore ten children during her various liaisons, including Joseph de Riquet, first son of François-Joseph-Philippe, who became the seventeenth Prince of Chimay
Prince de Chimay
Prince de Chimay is a noble title associated with Chimay in what is now Belgium. It is presently held by Philippe de Caraman-Chimay, 22nd Prince de Chimay.-Counts of Chimay:*1 Jean II de Croÿ, comte de Chimay...
in 1843.
Children
Thérésa bore ten children by various husbands and lovers.- Antoine François Julien Théodore Denis Ignace de Fontenay (1789–1815)
- Rose Thermidor Laure Josephine Tallien (1795–1862)
- One child by Barras, born in 1797, who died at birth.
Ouvrard was allegedly the father of four of her children, born during her marriage to Tallien:
- Clemence Isaure Thérésa Tallien (1800–1884), married Colonel Hyacinthe Devaux, no issue; as a widow she became a nun;
- Jules Adolphe Edouard Tallien de Cabarrus, Doctor Cabarrus (1801-?), married Harriet Kirkpatrick;
- Clarisse Thérésa Ouvrard (1802-?), married Achille Ferdinand Brunetiere in 1826;
- Auguste Stéphanie Coralie Thérésa Ouvrard (1803-?), married Amédée Ferdinand Moissan de Vaux, son of the Baron of Vaux, in 1822.
She and Riquet had three children together:
- Joseph Philippe de Riquet (1808–1886), 17th Prince de Chimay, Prince de Caraman; married Émilie Pellapra;
- Michel Gabriel Alphonse Ferdinand de Riquet (1810–1865), father of Marie-Clotilde-Elisabeth Louise de Riquet, comtesse de Mercy-ArgenteauMarie-Clotilde-Elisabeth Louise de Riquet, comtesse de Mercy-ArgenteauMarie-Clotilde-Elisabeth Louise de Riquet was the elder daughter of Michel Gabriel Alphonse Ferdinand de Riquet , created prince de Chimay 1834, for himself only, and Rosalie de Riquet de Caraman...
; - Marie Auguste Louise Thérèse Valentine de Riquet (1815–1876), married Georges, Marquis du Hallay-Coétquen.
Cultural references
As Teresa Cabarrús, she is a prominent character in Baroness OrczyBaroness Orczy
Baroness Emma Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála "Emmuska" Orczy de Orczi was a British novelist, playwright and artist of Hungarian noble origin. She was most notable for her series of novels featuring the Scarlet Pimpernel...
's novel, The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel
The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel
The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel, first published in 1922, is the last book in the series about the Scarlet Pimpernel's adventures by Baroness Orczy...
.