The secret Paris apartment of Madame de Florian

via The decorator´s Notebook.

"The apartment belonged to Marthe de Florian,

an actress and socialite who lived

in swirl of fine gowns and love affairs

with important men,

from Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau

to painter Giovanni Boldini,

who captured her beauty in the radiant portrait above."  

"She lived in this decadent apartment on the Right Bank

with her own portrait in pride of place until she died,

leaving her home to her grandaughter, Madame de Florian.

In 1942 at the age of 23, Madame de Florian was forced to flee Paris

as the German troops drew ever nearer.

She locked the doors and moved to the South of France,

never to return, although she continued to pay her service charges

until her death at the age of 91.

It wasn’t until 2010 that auctioneers opened the doors

to the apartment once again and discovered the incredible time capsule

that lay gathering dust inside.

Amongst the elegant carved furniture, moth-eaten silks

and dulled cut Crystal the auctioneer came across

Marthe de Florian’s portrait alongside ribbon-bound love letters

that confirmed the identity of both the artist and subject,

who was only 24 when it was painted.

The painting recently sold for an astonishing €2.1 million…

the apartment however remains in the hands of the de Florian estate,

back behind closed doors and just as it was the day Madame de Florian left."

I have a great weakness for abandoned places, houses, for stories like this.
For some - unknown reasons - they touch my heart.
I would love to visit this Apartment, just to sit there and feel it.

Hope your Tuesday is a happy one!
xo