Antoinette Cazal

Antoinette Cazal (1862–1902), nicknamed "Trognette", was a French brasserie server, anarchist, and illegalist. She is known, among other things, for being targeted during the Trial of the Thirty with her group, the Ortiz gang.

Born into a poor family and affected by tuberculosis, she became a brasserie server where she met the illegalist anarchist activist Léon Ortiz. Cazal entered into a relationship with him, and the two collaborated on burglaries, the fencing of certain goods, and other actions. They also had a conflicted and complicated relationship. Following her arrest, Cazal was accused of receiving stolen goods during the Trial of the Thirty along with other members of the gang.

She was acquitted and married Ortiz, with whom she wished to maintain a connection, and whom she wanted to visit and follow into deportation, as he himself was sentenced to fifteen years in a penal colony. Lacking resources, she was unable to do so and remained in France. She died in 1902, likely from tuberculosis.

In addition to being an interesting historical figure due to the historiographical questions posed by her biography, Cazal is possibly the model for Édouard Manet's painting Woman Reading (1879).

Biography

Youth Antoinette Blanche Cazal was born on 10 March 1862 in Le Falgoux. According to her birth certificate, she was the daughter of Catherine Bergeron, who was unemployed, and Antoine Cazard, who worked as a domestic servant.

Ortiz gang and illegalism Cazal met Léon Ortiz, an illegalist anarchist active in Parisian circles, at her job while she was working as a brasserie server at the Brasserie Pompadour on Rue Turbigo. The two became a couple, and as she was affected by tuberculosis, Ortiz took care of her, and they jointly nicknamed each other "Trognon" and "Trognette". (feminine and masculine of the same word)

In 1892, when Placide Schouppe, an illegalist close to Ortiz, escaped from prison and returned to Paris, he reunited with his partner, Élise Pelgrom – who herself was coming out of a relationship with the sculptor Strauch. When she wanted to retrieve her furniture by going back to live with Schouppe, Strauch refused, which prompted them, likely aided by Cazal and Ortiz, to go and retrieve the furniture themselves by burglarizing him. They took additional furniture with them. The sculptor then filed a complaint, which put the group at risk; their home was searched, but the police did not find any compromising evidence. Cazal left Paris for Auvergne during this period, while Ortiz went to London.

After a dispute with Ortiz, who had found another partner named Augustine Curry, the anarchist went to the police and gave them information concerning the Carmaux-Bons Enfants bombing, accusing Ortiz of having participated in its preparation. She also denounced Bonnard and Adrienne Chailliey, stating that she was the source of the mantilla that Chailliey allegedly wore during the attack, which she had entrusted to her. This denunciation led to their arrest, but Émile Henry's confessions regarding the bombing undermined Cazal's version for the French authorities.

Meanwhile, after a series of burglaries, Ortiz disappeared and moved within clandestine circles in Paris, London, Brussels, Perpignan, and Barcelona, where he spent part of 1893. Ortiz was sentenced to fifteen years of penal servitude.

Immediately after her acquittal, she sought to visit Ortiz as frequently as possible, undertook numerous administrative procedures, and married him on 15 December 1894 at the Town Hall of the 11th arrondissement of Paris and at Sainte-Marguerite church, under heavy police escort. She wished to join him at the penal colony in French Guiana, but her poverty prevented her from even following him to Île de Ré before his deportation. She thus moved in with Eva Schiroky, Léon Ortiz's mother, instead.

Antoinette Cazal died alone on 12 April 1902 at the age of 40 at 28 avenue Parmentier. She most likely died of tuberculosis; moreover, Ortiz no longer seemed to be living with her despite his liberation from the penal colony in 1898.

Legacy

Research Édouard Manet's Woman Reading (1879), whose model was named Trognette. According to historian Constance Bantman, her profile is "fascinating" because it raises numerous questions, particularly regarding her relationship with the anarchist movement. Bantman argues that crucial information about her is still missing, such as whether she was politicized through anarchist literature, if she knew and read the anarchist press, or even if she identified herself as an anarchist. Tabarant wrote precisely: