Appoline Schrader

Appoline Wilhelmine Schrader (1874–1929), known as "Mina" or "Minna" among other names, was a French artist, sculptor, and anarchist.

Born into a working-class family, she joined French artistic and anarchist circles. Schrader interacted with and inspired a number of artists, such as Rodin and Willy. She was targeted in 1894 as an anarchist and arrested by authorities, before being released a few days later, after which she continued her artistic activities.

Schrader died in 1929, interned at the Évreux hospital. Her police mugshot is part of the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) in New York.

According to 21st-century historians, she might be the "policeman in a skirt" mentioned by Auguste Liard-Courtois, describing an anarchist activist who was a police informant and very knowledgeable about the anarchist movement.

Biography

Appoline Wilhelmine Schrader was born on 21 October 1874, in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. She came from a working-class background; her mother was a seamstress and her father an umbrella maker.

Schrader became integrated into the artistic circles of Montmartre, even serving as a lady-in-waiting to the model Sarah Brown. She corresponded with dozens of artists, the most well-known being Rodin. She also had connections with Henri Beaulieu and the anarchist Henri Gauche. She adopted numerous nicknames within artistic circles, such as "Mina de Nyzot, Mina Schrader de Nysold, Mina Schrader de Wegt de Nizeau".

Arrest and imprisonment In March 1894, her home at 11 rue Berthe was raided as part of the crackdown on the anarchist movement. Refusing to sign the raid warrant, Schrader was mistreated by a police officer; she resisted, leaving her bathrobe in his hands as she found herself naked.

During her incarceration, she was photographed as an anarchist by Alphonse Bertillon's service. She remained imprisoned for five days before being released. She wrote to La Libre Parole to report her arrest and corrected the newspaper, stating that she was not a model but a sculptor.

Interned at the Évreux hospital, she died there on 27 February 1929.

Legacy

Suspected collaboration with the police According to Dominique Petit and Rolf Dupuy, Schrader may be the "policeman in a skirt" mentioned by Auguste Liard-Courtois in his Memoirs. Liard-Courtois describes an unnamed female anarchist police informant, whom he characterizes as a beautiful and elegant young woman. The anarchist activist had an eight-day relationship with this informant in Tours, during which she questioned him about the anarchist movement. She showed a particular interest in learning more and already knew all the anarchist speakers of the time and the exact locations where they had given speeches. According to Liard-Courtois, he eventually learned from her that she was an informant and how much money she was paid—but he does not name the person in question.

The identification with Schrader is considered plausible by both historians because it could explain why the police targeted her in 1894—possibly to force her to collaborate and become an informant.

Police mugshot Her police mugshot is part of the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET).